While AIBO, Sony's high-priced robot dog was hogging all the
headlines last Christmas, another new domestic robot was quietly
skooting around some early adopters' homes - and this little guy can
vacuum! Cye, the brainchild of Philadelphia robot inventor Henry
Thorne, is more than just a pretty pile of sensors. Besides vacuuming,
this reasonably-priced rug rat can haul stuff around the house and even
recharge its own batteries when it gets that rundown feeling.
Unlike robot pets like AIBO and high-priced digital domestics like CareBot, Cye doesn't rely on on-board computing power (which quickly becomes expensive). Most of its "brain" is in your home computer. It uses a radio link to your PC, so that the computer can control the robot's navigation and programming. Easy-to-use graphical mapping software allows you to teach Cye where to go (and not go) around your house. You can also program the little critter to serve drinks at a party, take dirty dishes back to the kitchen, and most importantly, (the holy grail of domestic robots) vacuum up afterwards.
Cye is basically a two-wheeled vehicle that can't do much on its own. Things get interesting only after you add the optional cart and specially-design cordless vacuum. Cye doesn't have arms, so don't expect it (him?) to grab you a beer from the fridge, but the robot can be a useful companion nonetheless. One Cye owner who had a hip replacement used it to carry cargo from room to room during his recovery.
One of the most exciting things about Cye is not the robot itself, or its affordable price tag, but the expansive possibilities it represents for hobbyists. The software that runs Cye is "open source," so that anyone who wants to can improve upon and add to it. The robot's website has a developers area where owners can trade ideas and plans for new hardware and software. Cye's creators have big plans for the robot, including a webcam attachment (so you can control Cye and see what he's seeing via the Web) and voice navigation.
And just so you don't think that Cye is all work and no play, he dances too. Thanks to a new sound response module, he will shake, rattle and roll if you put some music on the stereo. He seems to have a preference for hip hop and other bass-heavy beats. The sound response feature also allows you to order Cye around by clapping your hands.
The basic Cye SR robot cost $845. A package including Cye, the cart and the cordless vacuum sells for $995.
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