Anki, which is launching helper-bot Vector in October, said they want robots to be like “pets” that owners can have an “emotional bond” with.
With increasing fears over the advancement of AI, could it be possible that robots of the future will resemble Pixar’s loveable WALL-E more than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator?
Mark Palatucci, co-founder and chief product officer at Anki, said the goal is to make robots a “member of the family”.
He said: ”We're trying to create a different future, a friendly future where robots are not taking people's jobs or a threat to humanity but rather they're additive.
“They're fun, they're engaging and ultimately they do something useful.
“They're doing it in a way where you could have an emotional bond or affinity for this type of character.”
Anki are bringing out a tiny apple-sized bot called Vector which can work as a personal assistant.
It can connect to the WiFi to look up questions you ask it and displays various facial expressions thanks to it’s digital Disney-sized eyes.
Mr Palatucci added: “A lot of the bond that you have with a pet – how can we take that kind of emotion and psychology and build it into a physical machine and ultimately create better user experiences?
"Humans communicate in an emotive way, we understand people not just through language but also through emotions and facial expressions.”
Like a pet, Vector can be stroked and displays a “happy” expression when you do.
Mr Palatucci said the sci-fi trope of robots taking over the world was creating inflated worries of a “dystopian future”.
He said Anki took security seriously and audio or visual content gathered by Vector is never uploaded into the cloud.
"You only get one shot at this and if you blow it, it's hard to get back people's trust," he added.
“If you're going to welcome a robot into your home – your most trusted space – you've got to nail it."
