The little robot that caused a big stir when it hit crowdfunding site Indiegogo is now a retail reality. After passing its funding goal by some 300%, Riley, the AppBot, is now officially on sale at a number of retail outlets and on Amazon for US$229. As homes get smarter and connectivity becomes the norm, […]The post Riley, the AppBot appeared first on Pursuitist.

The little robot that caused a big stir when it hit crowdfunding site Indiegogo is now a retail reality. After passing its funding goal by some 300%, Riley, the AppBot, is now officially on sale at a number of retail outlets and on Amazon for US$229.As homes get smarter and connectivity becomes the norm, it’s only going to be a matter of time before the average household counts some form of robot as a family member, and if that member happens to be Riley, then there’s a good chance that even the most cynical or doubting of visitor will soon feel at ease ? if they notice him at all.That’s because the little robot, which bears an uncanny resemblance to WALL-E, the titular star of Pixar’s 2008 feature-length animation, packs cuteness and cleverness into a compact app-controlled package.Despite standing less than 10cm tall, Riley has an integrated night vision camera, a five-megapixel image sensor, motion detection, a loudspeaker and a microphone. The camera, which can stream live video to a smartphone, desktop or tablet also uses facial recognition technology so it’s not going to ge...