"Tabletop Robot": Apple robot to solve "First World Problems"
Not at home, no hand free, no Mac nearby: Apple's planned "Tabletop Robot" is designed to make life easier for users, according to a new report.
Astro robot with fake logo: Is Apple inspired by Amazon?
(Image: Amazon / Bearbeitung: Mac & i)
Apple's upcoming "Tabletop Robot" could become the iPhone company's "Next Big Thing". Well-known US Apple journalist Mark Gurman has now addressed the motivation behind the idea in his newsletter from the weekend. In his opinion, the device is primarily about" solvinga series of first-world problems ". These are comfort problems that don't really bother users, but whose solution would make their everyday lives easier.
Rotatable iPad with cameras
The idea is a kind of large iPad screen with cameras that sits on a rotating stand with a motor. Initially, the hardware will only be placed on a table. Later versions could then become mobile and even "humanoid" (in the next decade), writes Gurman. One of the problems that Apple wants to solve with the first version is the lack of a computer nearby.
This would then be replaced by the robotic iPad, which would also be able to turn in the correct direction. The same applies to recording videos, photos or during video conferences: If you don't have a hand free here, the device simply turns to the correct height. Finally, the "Tabletop Robot" is also intended for safety and could be used as a rotating camera while you are at work or on the move.
Apple's old concept now for robots
These ideas are not really new. There have been rotating communication devices before and Amazon still has a mobile robot in its range, the Astro, which can also be sent on patrol. Neither the rotating communication devices nor the mobile robot have proved to be hit products so far. But these are precisely the areas in which Apple likes to succeed:
The company waits to see how competitors' products are received and then builds better versions. This was already the case with the MP3 player, the smartphone as well as the tablet – and ultimately also with the Mac, which also attracted newcomers to computers with its new user interface. Gurman believes that Apple could use its AI capabilities as well as new types of sensors and AR mapping of rooms. Apple also has a team at the start that has been working on autonomous vehicles for a long time.
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