Anki, maker of adorable robot companions, is shutting down, DigiTech Geeks Mobile Computing News

By -
Anki, maker of adorable robot companions, is shutting down

Anki, the San Francisco-based company behind smart, pocket-sized robots Vector and Cozmo, is shutting down this week.

According to Recode, almost 200 employees are being made redundant on Wednesday, and will receive just a week of severance pay.

Anki has attracted serious investment in the past, from big names including Index Ventures (which also backed Slack, Etsy, Skype and Just Eat in their early days) and Andreessen Horowitz (whose portfolio includes BuzzFeed, Facebook, Honor and Github).

Unfortunately, hardware is a notoriously expensive business and the company was left struggling after a more recent round of funding fell through. CEO Boris Sofman had previously told staff that companies including Microsoft, Amazon and Comcast were interested in acquiring Anki, but such a deal never materialized.

“Despite our past successes, we pursued every financial avenue to fund our future product development and expand on our platforms,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to Recode.

Powering down

It's a shame for a company that was so committed to the idea of robots as household companions. The most sophisticated of its devices, Vector, recently became compatible with Amazon Alexa, making it part pet and part free-roaming virtual assistant.

The company was keen to state that its products weren't toys, instead pitching them as AI-powered companions, and bringing experienced character designers on board to infuse them with personality.

"I feel like the future of home robotics needs to include character," Meghan McDowell, director of program management at Anki, told TechRadar in an interview earlier this year.

"We've seen with Vector, and even some of our previous products like Cozmo, that adding character to AI and robotics really is where the magic happens. It’s really important to the future of people accepting robots in their homes, to have people feel comfortable, and have a better, richer, deeper experience with their robot."

Sadly, it seems that household robots (at least for purposes other than housework) are still some way off becoming mainstream. 



Click here to read full article.




Download our Android App for all the latest Tech News: Click here to download our DTG Android App
#DigiTechGeeks #DTG

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is the “System Volume Information” Folder, and Can I Delete It?

By -
Image
What Is the “System Volume Information” Folder, and Can I Delete It? On every Windows drive—even external USB drives—you’ll find a “System Volume Information” folder. You’ll only see it if you have Windows set to  show hidden files and folders , but it’s always there. So what is it for? Why Can’t I Open the Folder? On drives formatted with  the NTFS file system , this folder’s permissions are set to prevent everyone from accessing the folder, even users with Administrator permissions. Double-click the folder and you’ll see an error message saying the “location is not available” and “access is denied.” This is normal. That’s because Windows uses this folder for certain system-level features. The permissions are set to prevent users—and programs without the appropriate permissions—from tampering with the files inside and interfering with important system functions. What Is It For? Among other things, Windows stores  System Restore points  in the System Volume
Read more

The best early January sales and deals for 2020 that are live now , DigiTech Geeks Mobile Computing News

By -
Image
The best early January sales and deals for 2020 that are live now The best early January sales 2020 Jump straight to the New Year deals you want... Phone and tablet deals Wearable deals Computing deals Audio deals Gaming deals TV deals Smart home deals Camera deals Home deals The January sales 2020 have arrived early. Sure, we still need to get through New Year's Eve – and many Boxing Day sales are still going strong – but a wealth of New Year deals have dropped already.  In fact, there are some brilliant offers to be had if you've got a load of Christmas cash and gift cards burning a hole in your pocket – but scouring the sales can be a slog.  Rather than leaving the warmth of your home, or spending hours on the internet while your family are in another room, we've done the hard work for you. We've searched through the most exciting early January sales to bring you the very best New Year deals available now. Below, you'll find the biggest
Read more

With no good Black Friday iPad deals, it's time to turn to the Android side , DigiTech Geeks Mobile Computing News

By -
Image
With no good Black Friday iPad deals, it's time to turn to the Android side The Black Friday iPad deals are never any good, but in 2021 they've somehow failed to clear that laughably low bar, and we've still been surprised by just how poor the Apple-tablet discounts are this year. Seriously – we're talking just $50 / £50 off super-power iPad Pros , and sometimes no discounts at all on entry-level or Mini tablets – and this outlook very likely won't change for the Cyber Monday iPad deals . If you were wanting to buy a new iPad in the Black Friday sales, it might seem like you're plum out of luck. (Not in the US or UK? Scroll down for deals in your region). It's not all bad news though, not as long as you're willing to try new things (and aren't committed to the Apple ecosystem already). That's because there are a few worthy tablet Black Friday deals on Android slates that make them much, much more tempting than an iPad. Sure, sure, sure: i
Read more