A robot with personality: Anki's Cozmo mixes humour, animation and AI

Palm-size toy robot, due in October, will recognize faces, play games, express a range of emotions

If you grew up watching movies like Star Wars, Short Circuit or WALL-E, you’ve probably daydreamed of what it’d be like to have a robot sidekick, a machine that genuinely reacts to you, recognizes you and talks back.

The team at Anki, a San Francisco startup known for smartphone-controlled toy race cars, had the same dream. Their new product isn’t a car, it’s a friendly robot named Cozmo.

SMALL WONDER

• Cozmo can recognize faces, play games & express emotions
• Moves around on tank-style tracks
• Has built-in speakers, which play a soundtrack