Ewaybot Unveils MoRo Robot at 2017 CES
Posted on January 6, 2017
There have been plenty of new robots at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. One of the more impressive bots is the Moro robot from Ewaybot Technology, a company based in Beijing. The robot assistant has arms with "hands" capable of grabbing objects. The faceless robot can respond to voice commands.
Engadget calls MoRo an Alexa with arms. Engadget notes that "Alexa can't hand you a coke." This is true but don't be surprised if there is an Amazon Alexa robot at a future CES or possibly a Google Home robot. MoRo stands about four feet tall and weighs nearly 80 pounds. It uses a RealSense camera to avoid objects while moving. MoRo runs on an Ubuntu + EwayOS operating system.
The Ewaybot site has images of MoRo being used in grocery stores and research labs. It also shows MoRo handing items to a woman preparing something in the kitchen.
CNET reports that the robot on display on CES is a prototype. It will be sold for $30,000 and available sometime later this year. The first video from CNET and the second clip is from Ewaybot. Most of the robotic assistants hitting the market this year will be armless but we aren't too far off from reasonably priced robot assistants that can reliably grab things for you. Take a look: