On May 26, Japan’s Sharp will launch RoboHon, a unique Smartphone built into a tiny humanoid robot. The device is now available for preorder.
Sharp’s RoboHon is considered the world’s first mobile robotic phone. It’s 19.5 centimeters (7.7 inches), tall and weighs 390 grams (13.8 ounces), has a 2-inch screen on the back, an 8.megapicxelcamera, a projector in his head that can display HD (1,280 by 720 pixel) quality images and it will cost 198,000 yen (over US$1,800). RoboHon it’s not only bigger and heavier than a conventional phone, it also costs way more than the most expensive iPhone in the market. It runs Android 5.0.
The robot can walk on its two legs and talk back to its owner thanks to a recognition face technology, even when its vocabulary and ability to communicate are limited.
The conversation functions work through a cloud service, so it will be exclusive for those who pay an extra 980 yen (US$9) per month. There’re separately phone charges that one must pay to use the Smartphone function.
They also have to pay phone charges separately to use the smartphone function.
RoboHon wants to be part of every facet of your life
According to the promotional video, this robot-phone will be able to send you messages at the office, show you a movie through the tiny projector in its head, to snap selfies of you and your friends, you can also ask him to dance for you, and it will even wish you goodnight before bed or make you cry by showing you pictures of the person you miss the most. This cute and tiny little bot can do anything your phone can do and plenty of other fun things.
The vision for the Robohon is similar to that of Tomotaka Takahashi, CEO of robot development company RoboGarage, which co-developed it. The robot was designed to have character and be a companion for its owner.
According to Engadget (via XDA Developers), which attended the launch, RoboHon is compatible with the LTE bands of NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest network provider, still the only way to get one bundled with service will be through unnamed MVNOs. Sharp hopes to sell about 5,000 of the Robohon per month, so this can be the beginning a journey to restore its business strength.
Source: Computer World