Let's discuss Sharp's new humanoid phone

This week's featured article

Sharp Corp. has announced the launch of a small humanoid smartphone that responds to voice commands and can project movies on a wall.

Debuting May 26, RoBoHon resembles a robot and has a screen that reflects its cellphone ancestry. It is priced at ¥198,000 with an additional monthly usage fee, the Osaka-based firm said.

"Sharp has a new vision of adding artificial intelligence to electronics products," said Yoshisuke Hasegawa, a Sharp executive.

He said this merging of artificial intelligence with consumer products will be an ongoing project, dubbed "Kokoro" ("Heart"). RoBoHon is the first in the series.

"Electronics will have intelligence and will be something that people can become attached to," said Hasegawa.

The humanoid RoBoHon is 19.5 centimeters tall. It is the work of renowned robot designer Tomotaka Takahashi.

It has a camera and projector that can put out photos and movies, as well as a 2-inch touchscreen on the back that users can handle like a smartphone.

But Sharp has also equipped the device with a voice recognition interface, meaning people can use it simply by talking to it.

RoBoHon failed to react to vocal commands twice during a demonstration, but it was able to initiate a voice call, read an email aloud and take a photograph based on vocal commands.

RoBoHon users will be charged a monthly fee of ¥980, which allows them access to Sharp's databases in order to get information.

Since it is a phone, people can insert a SIM card to connect to mobile communication networks. Communication fees range from ¥650 to ¥2,280 for data packages ranging from 1 gigabyte to 5 GB, with an additional voice call option.

Sharp will initially manufacture 5,000 units per month, but Hasegawa said he hopes that it will achieve 100,000 unit sales in the first year.

The manufacturer is also considering launching the robot phone overseas.

First published in The Japan Times on April 15.

Warm up

One-minute chat about smartphones.

Game

Collect words related to communication, e.g., letter, phone, discussion.

New words

1) ancestry: the origin of something, usually one's family; e.g., "They both have Irish-American ancestry."

2) merge: to join together; e.g., "They plan to merge the two projects into one."

3) dub: to give an unofficial name or nickname; e.g., "Because he's so big, they dub him 'Little John'. "

4) renown: fame or celebrity status; e.g., "She has won international renown as a pianist."

5) recognition: identifying some person or thing from previous knowledge; e.g., "A look of recognition crossed his face when he saw me, but I don't remember him."

6) initiate: to start something; e.g., "We initiated a new plan."

Guess the headline

S_ _ _ _'s new h_ _ _ _ _ _ _ phone handles more than just calls

Questions

1) What is RoBoHon?

2) What did RoBoHon manage to do during the demonstration?

3) How many RoBoHons does Sharp hope to sell in the first year?

Let's discuss the article

1) What do you do with your smartphone?

2) Do you think RoBoHon could be a hit product for Sharp Corp.?

3) What do you think artificial intelligence will be able to do in the future?