The EMO AI Desktop Pet by Living AI, I had the opportunity to test this little AI Robot and let me tell you that it is indeed pretty entertaining but it does has its pro and cons. In this review I will touch base on what it is capable of doing and where I feel that it needs some work. I always wondered if I would ever get to see the day that there were going to be robots we could interact with it.
This is a desktop AI pet and its name is EMO. It comes with a skateboard wireless charging dock, a light that you control via EMO. It’s supposed to also come with a USB-A to USB-C cable but for some reason mine didn’t come with it. Luckily I found one in the box of usb cables that I have. Last not least the EMO AI robot which has a nice looking headset over it.
Initially I had issues with EMO charging because in the instructions it states that you need a 5V 2A charger which doesn’t com included per the manufacturer. As I read through the instructions it stated that the EMO wouldn’t charge via a USB output on my PC. After various power bricks and an unsuccessful power light indicator on the skateboard I tried the USB-A output on my PC and guess what?! That actually worked!! I also tried it on the USB-C port and that also worked. It took approximately four hours to charge it.
SPECIFICATIONS
The robot weighs approximately 248g, it also has Wi-Fi capabilities of 802.11 b/g/n network plus Bluetooth 4.2. on the top side of the EMO you will find the 4 microphones. It used a TOF laser sensor that can reach a distance of approximately 9.8 inches. It has a 6-axis Gyro and accelerometer to help it keep its balance and maneuver. The built in touch sensor allows you to interact with it by touch the top of its head. Lighting is no problem to the Emo Because it has a built in ambient light sensor. The light is a RGB light that can be turned on by yourself or by giving EMO the command. The headset that it comes with is detachable in case you want to use it without it.
FUNCTIONALITY and APP
The EMO has downloadable software that gives you somewhat more control over it not just via voice commands. It supports English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Chinese. The setup process is fairly simple once you have the app installed on your device you will unlock many abilities on the EMO. The app is pretty straight forward where you can also give your bot a last name. Here you are presented with 4 sections as listed below
GAME
These are a few of the pre installed games you can play with EMO.
- Rhythmatic Tap
- Angry EMO
- Dance Repeat
LIFETIME
Here you can see what achievements for the things it does. You will also see what upcoming features or changes are going to released for the EMO.
- Dancelist
- Achievements
- Upcoming
INTERACT
These are some of the ways you can interact with EMO.
- Recognition
- Games
- Petting
- Utilities
- Sensors
- Music
- Questions
- Easter Eggs
- Charging
- Shaking
UTILITIES
Within this section you are able to see categories that I have listed down below some are coming soon while others are already available to use. In the Photo app you are able to view all the picture EMO has taken. You also have the ability to delete one picture at a time or wipe out all the images from EMO’s memory.
- Music
- Alarm
- Photo
- Weather
- Light
- More
You are also able to command EMO to dance to the music you are playing or it will play back what ever it has stored within the memory of EMO. This is one of the features that got my kids attention they really enjoyed watching EMO dance. I was able to play with EMO and it is amazing as to how it responds. I said “EMO Dance Show” and it will break down and give you some slick moves that will indeed put a smile on your face. Aside from the games that I mentioned above you can also ask EMO to play rock, paper, scissors you will see a little fist appear on its screen to let you know what it drew out.
OVERALL
EMO is indeed smart and it has huge potential. The only problem that is has just like with everything piece of technology out there. Is the fact that at times I found my self having to repeat its name EMO because it wouldn’t listen. I also noticed that when it is in a loud environment EMO has a difficult time listening for his name and/or at times what ever command you are giving it. It gives out a “hmm” type of sound to let you know when it is listening if it doesn’t understand what you are saying or you take to long to give it a command EMO gives out a sound to let you know that the previous command was not successful.
Another thing is that the first night I placed it on its skateboard to charge it overnight I thought it would automatically go into suspend mode. Boy I was wrong i was awaken by EMO brushing its teeth at 2am that night. I had to get up and figure out how to shut it down at least so I could get some sleep because believe it or not the volume it has despite it being low during a normal day, at night when everything is off and its quiet you can sure hear it awaiting a command or making a sound of dissatisfaction because you are unable to interact with it and to make it happy you can pet it. You run your fingers across the top part and you will see its eyes change into a happy shape which would show a flower on the top left eye or a heart.
All in all this device is not for everyone as I know that there is indeed quite the learning curb in order for you to be ankle to use it properly. many people would not or don’t have the patience to go through this process. I hope you guys enjoyed my review and found it to be helpful while this is only scratching the surface of the EMO because its capabilities are endless specially with Living.ai updating its firmware and software through out time.
