The FPT Technology Research Institute announced its plans to launch its home robotic assistant, known as Robot on the go (Rogo), in January 2016.

An officer of FPT Corporation introduces home robotic assistant, known as Rogo, to elementary students at Unis School in Ha Noi. Photos courtesy of FPT Corporation

The information was revealed in an article on FPT Corporation's internal news page.

The robot is 13cm tall and weighs 500g. It utilises customers' smartphones as a component and is compatible with iPhone 5, iPhone 5S and iPhone 6.

To activate Rogo, customers need to log into RogoCloud, download the RogoApp on the Appstore and connect the app to Rogo bot and RogoCloud.

The robot has functions for making video calls and for photography via RogoTele and RogoPic. RogoTele supports video calls through apps such as Skype and Facetime, but callers are able to view any angles they wish. Meanwhile, RogoPic allows users to take photos automatically, in addition to taking wide-angle and 360-degree panoramic photos. Family members can connect and share their photos on RogoCloud, a private social network for families.

Members of the Robot team who develop Rogo.

Le Ngoc Tuan, director of Robot team, said they were developing two new functions: personal assistant RogoChat and home helper RogoHome.

"We expect that Rogo will become an intelligent hub for the family and can interact through voice recognition."

The idea of developing Rogo came from the SMAC Challenge, a Mobile Robot programming competition organised by FPT. The robot was developed with the aim of making the artificial intelligence product part of the family.

"Costs for developing robots like NAO, Pepper and Jibo are very high. Therefore, we thought of using a smartphone as a central processing unit (CPU) to develop apps for robots to decrease the initial investment amount and offer an experience of the latest technologies," he said.

The team, with eight members, started to develop Rogo in January. After completing the hardware and software and launching a trial run, the product was officially introduced to the global technology community.

The company is conducting a campaign on the largest global site for fundraisers, Indiegogo, with the goal of receiving US$10,000. It raised $3,348 in eight days by June 23, and the fundraising campaign will end 38 days later. Customers can contribute $3 to help Rogo become a reality and to order the products on the site.

"Foreign communities are very open and are willing to make suggestions and purchase new products even when they have not yet been completed. Rogo wants to receive many suggestions from the international community to help complete the product. If successful, the robot will be shipped to buyers from January 2016," Tuan explained in the introduction of Rogo on the international website.

"However, the team hopes that many Vietnamese people will try the product. Rogo coming to life is our greatest wish."

Institute Director Tran The Trung said robots could be used for communication and were completely different from software on mobile phones. "Applications will be added by the community, and FPT is only a seeder. The most important thing is that we raise awareness of the use of robots as a new method of communication."

VNS