Sphero, the Boulder toy maker, has announced its spin-off Misty Robotics, Inc. will concentrate on building personal robots for homes and offices.
Sphero, the Boulder toy maker that brought us the rolling BB-8 toy from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, announced on June 20 that is has successfully completed its spin-off company, Misty Robotics, Inc., which is a new advanced robotics division that will build personal robots for the home as well as the office. [caption id="attachment_17992" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] BB-8[/caption] According to a statement released by Sphero, Misty Robotics, Inc. has received $11.5 million in funding from investors. The robot division will use the money to build the team and fast-forward the development of the products. Paul Berberian, CEO of Sphero, had this to say,... We see tremendous opportunity for the personal robot market, and the creation of Misty Robotics will allow the new company ... to focus on these efforts."
The overarching vision of the new company is to place a personal robot in every home and office. The robots are to "be seen and treated as our friends, our teammates, and a part of our families" and they will perform helpful tasks, provide safety, and interact with humans in fun ways.
Misty Robotics has been relatively quiet on the details of the plans, but you can get a sneak peek at one of the prototypes on its website.
The company also posted on its website, "our first robot arrives in 2018." So, it looks like we'll have to wait a bit longer before having robots in our homes becomes a reality.
While we wait, check out the latest toys and devices from Sphero, including Spider-Man, and Lightning McQueen!
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What are your thoughts on this new division and its plan for personal robots? Is this a little too reminiscent of The Jetsons? Do you think having personal robots in our homes and offices is a good idea? A bad idea? A mixture of both? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, and let's get the conversation started.