Cozmo

Cozmo has a companion app for smartphones that connects via Wi-Fi, used to both allow better interaction between Cozmo and the user, as well as offloading heavier processing requirements to the smartphone.[1][2]

Cozmo sees its environment with a camera capable of detecting faces. In November 2016, its camera was updated to include "night vision".[3] Cozmo has an "explorer mode", in which the user can manage Cozmo while it moves around its environment.[3]

Included with Cozmo are proprietary blocks that contain sensors, used both to play games and allow Cozmo to maintain a better sense of its environment.[2] Use of these blocks allows for multiple games to be played by both the user and Cozmo using the smartphone app.[1]

• Quick Tap sees Cozmo and the user race to touch a block whenever the colored lights match.[1] Many reviewers found that while Cozmo initially seemed to have slower reaction times, its speed increased as the game was played.[1][4]
• Keepaway involves the user attempting to bring a block close to Cozmo and pulling it back before Cozmo can touch it.[1]

After playing a game, Cozmo will react by appearing frustrated when it loses and celebrating when it wins.[5]

Cozmo also has a series of mechanics called "needs", in which the user must do several activities to "maintain" Cozmo. One of the needs is "energy", where a cube must be shaken and placed in front of Cozmo for it to "absorb" the energy.[6]

"Cozmo Performs", a mode added in 2018, allows users to directly control Cozmo's expressions with the mobile app.[7]

Cozmo is a small, lightweight robot with a singular arm and two treads.[4] Cozmo's body is primarily white and gray with red highlights, with a black, cube-shaped OLED display used as a face.[6][8] It has a single, excavator-like arm used to touch and interact with its environment and the user, as well as pick up the cubes that come packaged with it.[6]

Development documents for Cozmo, depicting behavioral notes and animation storyboards

Since the announcement of Anki Drive in 2013, Anki had specialized in toy-like robots and artificial intelligence.[8] When developing Anki Drive, Anki co-founder and president Hanns Tappeiner said he "realized that characters and personalities are a big deal", though "cars aren’t the best form factor to bring personalities out".[2] This led to the development of Cozmo, a small robot that aimed to "bring a character to life which you would normally only see in movies".[2]

When developing Cozmo, Anki decided to turn necessary machine learning into its personality. For example, it will act curious when it needs to gather information about its surroundings.[8] The development staff created a proprietary set of algorithms called an "emotion engine", which allows Cozmo to accurately mimic human emotion.[8] Anki co-founder and CEO Boris Sofman stated in an interview how Cozmo was purposefully designed to be imperfect, as he found perfection "boring". He elaborated by saying that "when [Cozmo] goes and fails to do something, that's not a bad thing", and that designing Cozmo to react to its own failure creates "a good opportunity to show off the emotions it generates".[4] The design of Cozmo's animations and expressions were led by animator Carlos Baena, who previously worked with Pixar to animate several films.[8] Cozmo's animations also utilize Maya in order to render some of Cozmo's animations.[2]

Cozmo released in the United States on October 16, 2016, at a retail price of US$180.[1] A limited edition "Interstellar Blue" model was released on November 2, 2018.[7]

Alongside the release of Cozmo, Anki the beta version released a software development kit (SDK) to be used with Cozmo.[9] On June 26, 2017, alongside the full release of the SDK, called the "Cozmo Code Lab",[10] an update was released that made use of Scratch to provide simpler coding for a younger audience. Tappeiner stated that Cozmo's coding offerings made him realize that it "is very much like an operating system like iOS or Android, but for a robot".[11] The "code lab", as it is called, was updated in December 2017 to include several other capabilities, most notably "if statements".[6]

Anki went bankrupt and shut down in April 2019 after failing to secure new investments, despite initially raising US$200,000,000.[12][5] Later that year, Digital Dream Labs acquired the ownership of Cozmo, as well as its successor Vector. Digital Dream Labs relaunched the robots in 2021.[13]

Upon Cozmo's reveal, CNET said that it "felt like a real-life version of Wall·E".[10] Engadget's Devindra Hardawar described Cozmo's personality and mannerisms as "like a child", citing Cozmo's curiosity and nervousness, as well as it being easily frustrated "when things don't go its way", which contributed to a personality he found "endearing".[4] Nick Statt of The Verge also praised Cozmo's "quirks", saying that they reminded him of his childhood experiences of exploring "something that feels mysteriously organic".[14] TechRadar's Marc Chacksfield called Cozmo a "fantastic" toy, and that it had him "smiling time and time again".[6]

• Official website