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Speecys starts robot broadcasting and plans new robot

Humanoid robot developer Speecys has presented a new business model - robot broadcasting. Now you will be able to hook up your SPC-101C to a dedicated server via your PC and the robot will read out the news, your email, ads, etc., with choreography. For example, you can set the robot so that it will cheer and dance for you on your birthday or when your stocks hit a target price. Below is a video of the robot reading the news.

Speecys is looking for companies that would like to provide content for its new broadcasting service. Eventually, Speecys thinks that content providers will be able to charge for subscription and/or commercials. Speecys is also eager to license its technology to others who would like to make their own robots that can connect to the online service. Educational robots that look like Barney, Dora or Wall-E that will help your children with homework would be one idea.

Right now it's still in a trial phase and what you can do is purchase the trial kit - one SPC-101C, a miniSD card with the proprietary OS installed and the application software "BotRoller" that enables you to connect to the server. Speecys plans to sell 100 of these kits at 400,000 yen (about $3,800) each. Speecys has also come up with a new script language "RTML" to make the robots move and interact with what they call "Bot Movies." In the future it would like to generate RTML automatically so that the robot can move along with any kind of video on the web.

Speecys says it has partnered with Taiwanese computer manufacturer Micro-Star International (MSI). Speecys is developing a new smaller type of humanoid robot NNR-1 which will stand 23cm tall and weigh 500g. MSI will manufacture the new robot which is targeted to start selling in spring 2009 at a price range of 60,000 to 80,000 yen ($570-$760). The new robot will also be able to connect to the broadcasting service. Speecys is calling this new category of robots "Family Communicators."

(Photo:Speecys CEO Tomoaki Kasuga holding the real-size design of the new humanoid NNR-1 next to SPC-101)

(Photo:Speecys CEO Tomoaki Kasuga [left] and Chief Strategist Masaharu Kinoshita at Speecys headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo)

Speecys' new robot is a "walking webcam"

  Speecys annnounced the new version of its robot MI・RAI-RT, which is now called SPC-101. The new robot SPC-101C, shown below, has a video camera built into its head.

   It can recognize faces and communicate wirelessly with a PC, thus work as a walking security camera inside your house. And you can communicate with your robot using your cell phone. Like the first version, SPC-101C will read out your schedules and email messages by voice command. And make it dance too while doing that, if you prefer.

  Speecys is opening up the robot's programming interface and source code so that engineers can easily come up with their original applications.

  You can find the Japanese press release here. SPC-101C will be sold from Sept. 1 at 336,000 yen, which is a little less than $3,000. The company's goal is to sell 1,000 units.

　An update on SPC-101C here.