At first glance, Shimi appears to be a spiritual successor to Rolly, Sony’s egg-shaped musical robot from 2008.
(Credit: Georgia Tech)
The soundsmiths at Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology this week revealed Shimi, a one-foot tall musical robot that aims to serve as a musical assistant.
Created by center director Gil Weinberg, Shimi’s dual-speaker visage bobs its “head” and taps its hand/foot to the beat of a song while a range of features become available after docking an Android smartphone.
For example, the pint-sized Shimi utilizes facial recognition through the front-facing camera of an Android phone to position its speakers toward the listener for optimal sound. A summary of the device from Georgia Tech mentions a unique song selection method: “If the user taps or claps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone’s musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion.”
Other compelling features coming to Shimi include gesture recognition for playback/volume control and the ability to recommend music based on the active song.
Related stories
- Google says California legislators could drive away robotic cars
- Geeking out on hardware is not just about robots anymore
- Robot cranks out 2,500 sushi pieces per hour
New start-up robotic toy company Tovbot announced plans to sell Shimi to consumers in 2013 for an undisclosed price. We spotted a conceptual image of the commercial version of Shimi on the Tovbot Web site. Attendees of the Google I/O conference in San Francisco can check out Shimi during the After Hours party at Moscone Center tonight.
Take a peek at Weinberg’s previous robot named Shimon, an “autonomous, marimba-playing, octopus-armed hipster,” according to fellow CNET writer Tim Hornyak.
Related Links:
Last Moment Robot: ‘End of life detected’
Twelve ways to customize your Android device
Sexy, six-legged robot Hexy wants to get friendly
Swimming robot sends Crave off the deep end
DASH robot learns cockroach escape trick
via CNET Latest News http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57461255-1/meet-shimi-a-robot-dj-that-shuffles/?part=rss&subj=latest-news2&tag=title
