News
News Categories

Robi, a bilingual and Singlish-uttering robot, is now available in Singapore

By Ng Chong Seng - on 8 Jul 2016, 2:38pm

Robi, a bilingual and Singlish-uttering robot, is now available in Singapore

 

Looking for some quality bonding time with your kids? Well, why not build a robot with them? Robi, a popular DIY robot that launched in Japan in 2012, is now available for purchase in Singapore.

Of course, the Singapore version of Robi is a bit different from the Japan version. Our version is bilingual - more specially, it speaks English and Mandarin - and even knows some Singlish phrases. It can sing, dance, control selected household appliances, as well as express emotion through the color of its eyes.

Created by Professor Tomotaka Takahashi for DeAgostini, Robi the Singlish-speaking robot incorporates cutting-edge robotics technology from Japan, including a microcontroller board that controls its motion and reactions and as many of 20 servo motors that control its movements. In terms of dimensions, Robi is 34cm tall and weighs 1kg. Its internal battery takes 90 minutes to charge up fully; after which, it can operate for up to 30 minutes. You’ll know when Robi is low on power because it’ll literally say “I’m hungry.”

Now, for the family bonding part. You see, maker DeAgostini isn’t shipping Robi as a complete robot. Robi’s assembly instructions and model parts are delivered with an educational magazine about robotics over the course of 70 weekly issues. Each issue retails at S$28.90, other than the first issue (at a promo price of S$9.90); and issue 43 and 67 (S$55 each) and issue 62 and 63 (S$42 each), because these four issues contain more expensive parts like the CPU, sensors, and speech recognition board. Put another way, at the end of the day, Robi will set you back S$2,082.40.

Interested? Here are the fine retailers that are selling the magazine:

  • 7-Eleven
  • Books Kinokuniya
  • FairPrice
  • FairPrice Online
  • Giant Hypermarket
  • MPH Bookstores
  • Popular
  • SPC (Singapore Petroleum Company)
  • SPH Buzz
  • Toy Or Game
  • Warehouse Club
  • Times Bookstores

To save some money and get some free gifts, you can consider subscribing the magazine from Robi's online store at www.robi.sg. For further details, check out this FAQ.

Not sure if Robi is the right humanoid for your home? From today to 10 July, you can check out Robi at a roadshow at Marina Square Shopping Mall. Professor Tomotaka Takahashi, the creator of Robi, and Yujin Kimura, Consumer Robotics Manager, will be on site to introduce Robi to visitors. You may even catch a glimpse of 100 Robi robots in a synchronized dance.

(Image source: Robi Singapore Facebook.)

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.