Albeit a bit late, the skills keep on coming for Jibo.
In a new YouTube video, the social robot shows off its ability to control lights in a smart home. Watch the video above to see Jibo turn lights on and off, make them warmer, and change their color.
You’ll notice Jibo “nod” his head after each command from Jibo partner product manager Andreya Piplica, indicating he understands what needs to be done.
You’ll also notice Jibo turn his head towards Piplica as she first begins talking. This is another good example of Jibo’s sound localization that allows the social robot to recognize where a sound is coming from and turn towards that sound.
To make this Jibo skill possible, of course, the Philips Hue bridge must already be configured in your home. To learn more about how this skill was developed, check out this post from Kevin Mellot on Jibo’s developer forum.
Jibo said the latest video shows how developers can create skills that allow Jibo to communicate with smart appliances and WiFi-connected devices. We hope that means we’ll see more smart home skills from Jibo in the not too distant future.
In March 2016, Jibo released a video showing its ability to order a pizza. This is pretty cool, if it’s truly how Jibo will work, and this wasn’t just a scripted video. Jibo said this application was built by an internal Jibo developer using the Jibo SDK who was playing with an external web service for pizza ordering.
Lately, Jibo seems to be communicating much more with the community, which may or may not be a direct response to the growing frustration from its early backers who had been questioning when the social robot would start shipping. Well, they finally got an answer, somewhat, as Jibo recently announced delays for the project. It’s also offering refunds for customers who don’t want to wait any longer. Jibo said it will share details of the new delivery date on April 29.