Consumer-grade robots are increasingly enhancing their technical capabilities.
Editor | Yu Sanzhui, Jing Yu
Racing, mechanical transformations, and fighting for justice, Transformers have always been childhood idols for countless people and a source of inspiration for many tech enthusiasts. Even Elon Musk cannot resist the fatal attraction of Transformers, not only naming Tesla’s humanoid robot “Optimus Prime” but also asserting, “These humanoid robots will have a larger market than electric vehicles, and in the future, everyone will have one.”
However, this time, a consumer-grade robotics company has moved faster. Before Musk’s “Optimus Prime” has hit the market, their team has already produced a small bipedal robot that deeply replicates the appearance of Transformers heroes and can run and fight.
On May 25, the consumer-grade robotics brand “ROBOSEN” held a product launch event themed “Make Life More Fun” at the Beijing LanJing Art Center. At the event, ROBOSEN launched three new consumer-grade entertainment robots, including the ROBOSEN Buzz Lightyear, ROBOSEN Bumblebee G1 Performance Version, and the ROBOSEN Optimus Prime “Rise of the Beasts” exquisite series robot, along with two ROBOSEN smart bases.
In addition to the new Optimus Prime and Bumblebee robots being “stylish and eye-catching,” what drew more attention was that ROBOSEN publicly announced its four core robotic technologies and three key artificial intelligence technologies for the first time at this launch. The renowned Japanese mechanical designer Shoji Otomo, who created classics like “Macross” and “High-Performance Formula,” officially joined ROBOSEN as a “Product Concept Partner,” stating, “In the future, I will combine my ideas on robots and AI with ROBOSEN to develop new AI robots and AI robot content.”
It is certain that in an era where AI is worth introducing into any industry, the passion for intelligent upgrades in the robotics industry has also been ignited, and it is time for consumer-grade robots to break away from the singular path of IP competition and enhance their technical capabilities.
01
Classic IP Comes to Life
As early as five years ago, ROBOSEN established a close relationship with Hasbro and launched the ROBOSEN Optimus Prime and ROBOSEN Optimus Prime trailer kit in 2021, instantly gaining global recognition. This time, ROBOSEN also chose to collaborate with Hasbro to launch two newly crafted Transformers robots—the ROBOSEN Optimus Prime “Rise of the Beasts” exquisite series robot and the ROBOSEN Bumblebee G1 Performance Version.
It is worth noting that although ROBOSEN has previously launched several Optimus Prime-themed robots, this exquisite series version is the world’s first robot that deeply replicates the appearance of Optimus Prime from the movie “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” and it is also ROBOSEN’s first collectible entertainment robot based on a movie hero IP.
The main reason ROBOSEN has “broken out” in the industry is that it combines people’s nostalgia for the Transformers IP with its own robotic technology. Therefore, just looking at the new Optimus Prime robot’s “collectible” title indicates that the products ROBOSEN has launched this time are certainly not simple.
ROBOSEN Optimus Prime “Rise of the Beasts” exquisite series robot | Image source: ROBOSEN
As expected, when the ROBOSEN Optimus Prime “Rise of the Beasts” exquisite series robot made its debut at the launch event, many attendees couldn’t help but take photos and exclaimed, “The childhood screen hero has come to life!” The new Optimus Prime robot has a high degree of restoration, with a multi-color paint job, and every detail has been meticulously crafted and painted, achieving a movie-level detail restoration. To better match the movie’s image, ROBOSEN even applied a “weathered paint job” to replicate the battle scars left on the character during fights in the film.
However, if it were merely a refined restoration of the “appearance,” then well-made figurines could achieve that as well. ROBOSEN’s strength lies in its ability to make Optimus Prime and Bumblebee “come to life.”
In previous conversations with robotics practitioners, they often mentioned a fact: “Compared to wheeled robots, quadrupedal, hexapod, and other multi-legged robots, mastering the gait technology of bipedal robots is more challenging,” which is also why we rarely see bipedal robots in practical scenarios. ROBOSEN’s advantage is that it has already conquered the humanoid bipedal form as early as 2019, supporting programming and transformable robot development technology. After several years of technological evolution, the new robot can flexibly perform classic poses from animations and movies.
ROBOSEN Bumblebee G1 Performance Version | Image source: ROBOSEN
Taking the ROBOSEN Bumblebee G1 Performance Version as an example, this product is equipped with 17 self-developed high-precision electric robotic smart joints, one six-axis attitude sensor, and 45 microchips, and after upgrading the adaptive gait algorithm, the robot’s bipedal walking is more flexible, with two adjustable walking speeds. Supported by technological strength, Bumblebee can perform a variety of actions such as “bipedal walking,” “kicking,” and “stretching,” showcasing Bumblebee’s friendly and humorous side from the animation.
Users can also create personalized actions like a dance or martial arts through two programming methods: manual and graphical module, experiencing the fun of customization; they can also use the robot’s app system to perform solo acts or multi-character theater performances in different scenarios.
02
From IP Robots to
AI Intelligent Robots
At the launch event, ROBOSEN stated that it will further expand its collaboration with Hasbro to create more Transformers IP hero robots. However, although ROBOSEN’s IP robots have always received high praise and validated the success of the “Robot + IP” path, ROBOSEN does not intend to stop there.
After more than a decade of exploration and research, ROBOSEN has formed several core technologies in its robotic technology system, including high-dimensional constraint equation deformation structure design, multi-alloy, heterogeneous high-precision smart joints, and bipedal adaptive control high-order algorithms. These somewhat convoluted-sounding technologies not only ensure that the robots possess excellent properties such as high strength and high toughness but also provide strong mobility and structural stability, ensuring a good interactive experience.
Now, after achieving a phased breakthrough in robotic technology, ROBOSEN is finally determined to focus on AI intelligent robots.
Every year, a large number of robotics companies receive funding, but many also disappear because they cannot find specific practical scenarios. In the robotics field, the most widely used and capable of truly solving problems have mostly been industrial robots like robotic arms, logistics robots, and warehouse robots, which do not possess human forms, while consumer-grade robots find themselves in a somewhat awkward position.
ROBOSEN believes that intelligence should be an integral part of robots, and with the advancement of technology and the continuous development of artificial intelligence, “the new product forms generated by Robot + AI + IP will become a new species and new partners for families in the era of artificial intelligence.”
ROBOSEN is actively exploring “Robot + AI” | Image source: ROBOSEN
Many people may not know that ROBOSEN has already accumulated experience in artificial intelligence, such as passive and active full-duplex voice interaction technology based on visual presentation, dialogue content generation technology based on large language models aimed at the IP universe, and robot intelligent motion content generation technology based on AIGC. These technologies precisely endow ROBOSEN robots with the ability for multi-character three-dimensional anthropomorphic interaction, allowing robots to possess cognition, expressions, and movements similar to humans.
In the future envisioned by ROBOSEN, a humanoid robot standing on a table can actively greet and converse with you when you return home, and establish a unique communication style based on your interests and hobbies… To make the above scenario a reality, ROBOSEN is actively exploring the technical practice of “Robot + AI.”
Currently, ROBOSEN’s supporting products based on the smart series, “ROBOSEN Smart Base” and “ROBOSEN Smart Base Lite,” have also begun internal testing, and the “three-dimensional anthropomorphic experience” based on the two smart bases (through robot hardware + AI intelligence to create interactive experiences in family entertainment scenarios) has already started inviting testers, with the official version expected to debut in the third quarter of this year.
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