Review | Cozmo by Anki

Meet Cozmo.  Cozmo is the cutest little robot that we have ever seen.  Anki offered us the chance to review Cozmo, meaning we could get to know him and he could get to know us.

Cozmo arrived in Premium packaging, looking and feeling like a quality product, with the Cozmo unit, his 3 power cubes and a charging stand all included in the box.

Initial set up was easy enough. Choose what you want to use to control Cozmo. We used Little J’s Ipad so that he could play with Cozmo whenever he wants.  Cozmo ‘pairs’ with the Ipad and you then download the Cozmo app, which is available for iOS or Android devices.

We had lots of fun setting up Cozmo and his cubes.  Cozmo wants to know your name, and where he focuses on you he will say your name.  The way Cozmo was able to distinguish between Little J and I when we moved in and out of his vision was brilliant.

Our Cozmo arrived quite hungry and a little out of sorts, but with a quick feed, and a little maintenance run, which are very straightforward and lots of fun, he was in good spirits and ready to play. This element of Cozmo reminds me of the old tamagotchi pets, great for the little ones to keep their pet robot happy!

Playing - There are so many games that Cozmo can play, honestly its hard to describe how amazing some of the things he can do really are.  One of our favourites is Quicktap. You and Cozmo need your own cube to play. When your cube is flashing, tap it to begin the game. Be the first player to tap the cube when the colours match. The first player to tap their cube gets a point.  Its amazing how Cozmo reacts to a match, and even more amazing when he moans if you beat him to the tap!  3 points and its a victory which will either get you cheers or more moans from Cozmo depending on the outcome.

We also really enjoyed Keep away. You need 1 cube to play. Move the cube close to Cozmo to get him to pounce, pull it away before he can to get a point. Watch out, if you're too slow, Cozmo will get the point!

These are really just some of the basics that Cozmo can do, Little J had so much fun asking Cozmo to repeat sentences as he typed them into the Ipad, and also loved putting Cozmo into camera mode and then being able to see through his eyes on the Ipad screen as he controlled him like a radio controlled car using the iPad as the controller.  Cozmo also has night vision which is really fun in the dark!

We haven’t used the Code Lab much yet, which is where Cozmo will be at his best for older children. The code lab will allow you to access Cozmo’s core functionality and real robotics technology. Learn the basics of coding while using your imagination to create your own content for Cozmo.  I am looking forward to getting to know this section over the next few weeks.

Overall we have had a great time with Cozmo, he has a permanent place on our desk, sat in his charging stand ready for fun whenever we want to play.  What I think is really impressive about Cozmo is the lack of limitation AI products sometimes are hampered by.  With code lab and the ability of Cozmo to learn and change how his AI, there are so many possibilities to play and get your little ones imagination really working.

You can find out more about Cozmo by visiting Anki. Cozmo is available to buy online at Anki and Amazon

John

We received Cozmo for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.