Homes are now full of technology, but despite all the advances in software, AI and human-computer interaction, there are still impersonal peripherals. Try to remedy this scenario, EBO X, the all-doing robot that sets out to be the protector, playmate and more for the whole family. It is a small ball with wheels, self-balanced, and two huge eyes on the front. It proposes, first, to map home thanks to the webcam installed on its head so that it can move around the home at its best and act as a real guardian. Mapping is done precisely thanks to the V-SLAM system, which is the same system many household cleaning robots use.
Not just monitoring
The camera on top offers 4K resolution and is axis-stabilised with an adjustable vertical angle within a range of 104 degrees. EBO X has an 8-megapixel sensor and provides a very wide FOV of 106 degrees. In the manufacturer’s idea, EBO X is a smart brace for the home and family. Thanks to its self-balancing two-wheeled design and especially its smart mapping capabilities, it can reach almost any part of the house. Despite this, users can set restricted areas to protect privacy. It can map the house’s layout and clearly “see” what happens in each room regardless of the time of day or night.
EBO X can, thus, be set to detect an elderly person’s fall or a child’s cry; it can even remember when a person needs to take medication by recognising him or her by their face. EBO X can also recognise a family member by their voice. Not only safety, however, but also fun. The robot can play music through its Harman AudioEFX speaker and supports Alexa voice control to receive commands. By combining three devices in one, this smart guardian helps keep the family safe while also creating a comfortable environment by interacting with smart devices in the home, so it can also raise the blinds, for example.
Just like Blade Runner
The world dreamed up by Ridley Scott is still, 42 years after its first release on October 14, 1982, more futuristic than one can imagine. Some have come true, and some have not (such as flying cars), but it is always fascinating to look at cinema as a forerunner of new technologies aimed at the consumer. Such is the case with the Ebo X Family Companion, which is, in fact, a small Echo that follows us everywhere and answers classic questions to ask Amazon’s assistant.
For those who follow what goes on within the walls of the tech bigwigs, Ebo X is what Astro should have been: a little robot with a large touch screen instead of eyes that performs the same functions as the Enabot. Astro still exists even though it is aimed at a limited, invitation-only market. Moreover, its price is not exaggerated either, $1,599, or nearly 1,500 euros, just under half the price tag of Ebo X, set at 849 euros. But the latter also has an additional treat: ChatGpt.
There is also ChatGpt
With the most recent update, simply ask the robot, with a voice command, to talk to the OpenAI chatbot, and it will activate the Gpt-4o mini mode. The Family Companion will speak in our language once the correct language is set in the Ebo app. However, the manufacturer warns that ChatGPT can give the most satisfaction in English. What is different from Alexa integration? Well, the AI can create a story on themes we suggest, summarise historical facts from the past, or create recipes with what we have in the fridge. That said, there is no overlap with Alexa, but it is a complement, as Amazon’s assistant can give real-time information, from weather to sports scores.
Turning to the home monitoring options, there are two ways in which you can take advantage of the large camera on top of the little robot. One is to remote control it from the Ebo X app and make it walk wherever you want. Its anti-fall and anti-collision sensors stop it when it is in front of stairs or about to run into a wall. Both precautions deactivate when you choose to let the device “run.”
The other mode is a container of others, and they are encapsulated in the “safety” menu item in the app. One can use the robot as an alarm clock, to remind us to take medication, to recognise crying babies and falling people, and as a guardian in our absence. In the latter case, the accessory goes up or down from the charging base at predefined intervals to make sure no one is home. Like a classic camera, the images and videos captured manually or automatically are saved on an already-packaged 256-gigabyte storage medium.
