Zeno Life-Like Robot Debuts at NextFest

By Nick Mokey September 13, 2007

Zeno Life-Like Robot Debuts at NextFest

Honda’s Asimo humanoid robot may be in for some competition. Hanson Robotics used WIRED magazine’s NextFest expo to introduce a new robot named Zeno on Thursday, a 17-inch tall tike who can navigate, make facial expressions, recognize speech and more.

Zeno uses artificial intelligence developed by Massive Software, the company that developed simulated AI-driven characters for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Happy Feet and Ratatouille. The robot develops a 3D “mental image” of his surroundings and uses Massive’s code to determine how to control physical action. A body with 28 individual servos allows Zeno to lie down, stand up, gesture, open and close his mouth and eyes, and more.

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Hanson also built Zeno with a speech recognition engine and conversational AI. These capabilities, together with his vision, allow Zeno to remember speech and faces and interact accordingly.

The ultimate goal with Zeno is to produce a robot for the mass market. “The technology incorporated in Zeno has a huge potential for the consumer home entertainment market,” said David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics, in a statement. “Zeno’s pre-defined movements and actions have unlimited permutations and he will get smarter and more aware over time. The goal is to bring it to market as a children’s toy, able to tutor, express and teach a variety of different subjects.”

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Smart Home

This robot lawn mower is $400 off for Amazon Prime Day

husqvarna automower 415x deal amazon prime day 2023 robotic lawn mower lifestyle image

One of the best Prime Day deals is one we don't see too often -- a hefty discount on a robot lawn mower. The robot lawn mower in question is the Husqvarna Automower 415X. It's usually priced at $2,000 but it's down to $1,600 right now so you're saving 20% off the regular price. This still isn't exactly cheap but if you're someone in need of an easier way to keep your garden and yard maintained, it's a good investment. One of the better Prime Day smart home deals around, let's take a look at what it offers.

Why you should buy the Husqvarna Automower 415X Robotic Lawn Mower
Husqvarna features in our look at the best robot lawn mowers thanks to its excellent reputation. It's particularly well suited for small to medium yards. If you're wondering how robot lawn mowers work, the Husqvarna Automower 415X Robotic Lawn Mower is the perfect example. You simply set it up by defining the mowing area with the included boundary wire and sync it with your phone and the companion app. From there, you can control it from anywhere. It's capable of cutting up to 0.4 acres before having to head back to base with it able to cope with up to 40-degree slopes. It has a cutting width of 8.7 inches and an area capacity of 680 square feet per hour.

Smart Home

The best Prime Day robot vacuum deals, from just $97

Digital Trends Best Prime Day Robot Vacuum Deals

When it comes to seeking out the best Prime Day 2023 deals, it's always a good idea to look for a solid combination of items you need -- to make your life easier -- while choosing items that rarely go on sale. A great example of this are smart robot vacuums, which are designed to clean your home for you, while you kick back and relax, or focus on some more important tasks. And in case you were wondering, there are quite a few excellent discounts on robot vacuums for Prime Day this year. So, instead of shopping for the best Prime Day TV deals, looking for discounts on the best smart home devices, or any other well-priced gear, why not take a look at these Prime Day robot vacuum deals we've gathered up below?
Our favorite Prime Day robot vacuum deal
eufy Clean by Anker RoboVac G32 Pro robot vacuum -- $97, was $300

First and foremost, we're looking at an incredibly affordable yet capable smart vacuum in the eufy Clean RoboVac G32 Pro robot vacuum. It offers intelligent home mapping, with WiFi built-in, and app controls with cleaning history.

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The Roomba j6+ robot vacuum is currently the cheapest its ever been

iRobot Roomba J6+ and a smartphone on a white background.

If you're done with spring cleaning -- and never want to deal with that again -- you should consider getting a robot vacuum. They take almost all the work out of keeping your floors clean. They can be a big investment, but Prime Day robot vacuum deals can take quite a bit of money of they price tag. Right now one of the best iRobot models out there, the Roomba j6+, is the cheapest its ever been. During Prime Day Roomba deals, the j6+ is only $500. Considering it's normally $800, and it's only ever gone as low as $650, this is an incredible deal. Don't wait any longer, since Prime Day deals will be over soon.

Why you should buy the Roomba j6+ robot vacuum during Prime Day
The Roomba j6+ has all the features you'd expect from a robot vacuum, and a few surprises to boot. It has a powerful vacuum that works in three separate to pick up all the dust and crumbs in the house. It has a brush specifically designed for edges, so it can run right up against the baseboard without leaving a line of crumbs behind. In terms of its cleaning power, it has a few fancy features that you'll be thankful for. It can detect and avoid cat and dog poop, so you won't ever deal with that potential disaster. It also avoids cords, so you won't be fishing your phone charger out of the Roomba if you leave it dangling.