If you ever thought the good ol’ phablet was a bit cumbersome or difficult to shove into your pocket, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Earlier today, Japanese electronics maker Sharp revealed a humanoid robot-shaped smartphone that I promise won’t fit in your skinny jeans. It’s hard to say if it’s more phone or robot, but Robohon (yes, an amalgamation of robot and phone) attracted a whole lot of attention at this afternoon’s press-only preview event at the annual CEATEC convention just outside Tokyo.
The 19.5-centimeter (7.7-inch), 390 gram (0.9-pound) Robohon sports a 2-inch touchscreen, a quad-core CPU, and can connect to 3G, LTE, and wifi networks – but who cares! It’s a freakin’ robot that makes phone calls, shoots pictures and videos, and sends emails!
A Sharp spokesperson tells Tech in Asia that the robot has an original operating system that’s not based on Android (the company’s consumer smartphones have traditionally been powered by Google’s OS).
Robohon can sit, stand, walk, dance -- it can even beam a movie or slideshow on your wall with its built-in projector.
But wait, there’s more! Robohon also utilizes artificial intelligence that learns your likes, dislikes, daily habits, and frequently-visited places the more you use it. Its facial and voice recognition functions allow it to tell users apart, so it will respond differently when talking to your spouse or children.
At this point, Robohon feels almost like a miniature version of SoftBank’s Pepper robot -- but Sharp’s spokesperson says that the cute little guy is not yet tied up with any of Japan’s major telcos.
Robohon was designed by renowned Japanese roboticist Tomotaka Takahashi, the man behind the similarly-styled Kirobo humanoid robot and several others. Kirobo traveled to the International Space Station last year to chat with a Japanese astronaut.
Kirobo may have gone to space, but it definitely never hailed a cab.
Oh, and back to the portability issue. Don’t fret, because Robohon has a badass leather carrying case that will make your mirrorless camera jealous.
As this reporter learned, however, there’s no stopping yourself from looking a bit strange when making a call with Robohon (or wearing sunglasses indoors -- hey, the LEDs were bright!).
