Meet Xiaowei: A robot butler that can recognise faces and play movies with a built-in projector

Midea—one of China’s biggest electrical appliance manufacturers—introduces the Xiaowei. It’s the company’s first version of a home service robot that can recognise faces and even has its own built-in projector so it can play movies for you at home.

“We hope Xiaowei can make a family’s daily life easier”, states Dr. Tang Jian, the General Manager of Midea AI Innovation Center.

Xiaowei stands around one meter tall, and has a screen for a face showing “cute facial features”. It’s also able to access smart home appliances and IoT devices. For example, when Xiaowei detects a family member is coming home, it can turn on the lights and the air conditioner at home in advance for them.

So, how does the little robot waiter know who’s coming home? Mideo stated that Xiaowei is able to identify family members “through the use of face and body tracking technology”.

You’re able to direct the robot to keep an eye on happenings and to help deliver household items, remote monitoring, and safety patrol. But it’s also able to play hard—it has its own built-in projector for you to use as a mobile theater, entertainment center, or interactive play area.

Other features include the Xiaowei’s ability to scan your home in all directions through its built-in 3D camera, perform autonomous mapping, and identify object attributes. You’re able to tell your little robot butler to “go to the sofa” with your voice and it will be able to understand and follow the instruction.

“The robot is expected to create a home service trend. Advanced technologies including artificial intelligence will be better integrated into people’s daily lives,” continued Dr. Tang.

Xiaowei is expected to be launched in the second half of 2022 under Midea’s independent brand Wishug. Dr. Tang expects that household robots—just like smartphones and new energy vehicles—will “become a basic must-have for families”. But what do you think?

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