The smart home market is definitely important for big companies. Some brands have entire smart home networks while others are just entering the market. For example, Sony plans to resume the production of its smart home robots. The robots won’t be ordinary – they will serve as house assistant and look like dogs.
Making a robotized pet will be the first step of Sony’s comeback to robotics. Basically, it will sort of a house voice helper, similar to smart speakers, only it will be made in the shape of a dog. The pet will be equipped with its own artificial intelligence and have an Internet access. Apart from that, Sony wants to create a special open operating system for home robots. Right now, Sony already has behavioural technologies for the “dog” but third-party developers can expand the possibilities of such robots even further.
According to Sony representatives, the home robot market is at the first stage of development, so the company has a chance to succeed. Plus, Sony already had a smart robot – a dog called Aibo capable of showing “emotions”, playing with its owner and behaving differently (depending on the environment). But Aibo was more of a toy – the new robot will a more helpful assistant for smart home.
