The likeable aspect of Misty II is not misleading: it is not a toy, nor a pet robot, but something more like a real development platform. Its target is precisely the one linked to developers, educators and researchers who will be able to exploit its potential with the most different purposes.
Misty II, the platform robot
The first ideas proposed by those who participated in the crowdfunding phase concern skills intended for uses such as assistance to the elderly, use in the industrial sector for inventory operations, an inspection of the domestic space, monitoring of the environment, the therapy of people with autism and interaction with the public. The company that brings it to the market today, Misty Robotics, offers ad hoc packaged SDKs and APIs to write code to be fed to the unit.
The robot is equipped with a video camera capable of measuring the depth of what is framed and optimized for facial recognition, a series of microphones for picking up and interpreting vocal commands, locating their origin, speakers to interact with the interlocutors in the flesh, different Qualcomm processors, a display that reproduces human expressions, touch sensors and a system that identifies obstacles during travel so that they can be avoided. There is also the possibility to expand the hardware through the integration of Arduino or Raspberry Pi cards and to create additional modules or extensions through the use of 3D printers.
Those interested can immediately buy Misty II at a price of 2,899 dollars by taking advantage of a limited time offer, after which the expense will rise to 3,199 dollars.
