BLOG

Vector Updates, Amazon.com Deal of the Day, and Alexa Integration Coming Soon!

by Meghan McDowell, Director of Program Management, Anki | November 16th, 2018

With the holidays right around the corner, big things are coming for our newest robot, Vector!

Vector was introduced this summer via a Kickstarter campaign that met its goal in 24 hours. It went on to become the most funded robotics project of all time on the platform. We’re honored to have such a great community supporting us in our vision to create characterful home robots. Since its official launch last month, Vector, The Good Robot, has already:

• Received over 5 million voice queries
• Performed 700K fist bumps
• Hosted 227K dance parties
• Traveled 1,800 miles

This is only the tip of the iceberg for Vector. Because he is cloud-connected, your little robot is always learning and improving with new features and ways for you to engage with him. One of the most requested features from users has been an integration with Alexa. As our founder Boris shared previously, we’ve been working with Amazon to make it happen, and today, we’re happy to reveal that the integration will be launching in time for the holidays!

Next month, Vector owners in the U.S. and Canada will be able to access the knowledge and utility of Amazon’s voice service. Simply talk to Vector like you’d talk to Alexa and schedule reminders, search for information, control smart home devices, and more. We’ll also launch this feature early next year in other countries where Vector is available. Check out some footage of our engineers testing the integration below.

With the Alexa integration coming in December, there’s a great Deal of the Day on Amazon.com for 30% off Vector this Saturday, November 17, that you don’t want to miss. It has never been a better time to welcome The Good Robot into your home!

Later this month, we will also release an automatic update for all Vector owners. The update includes new animations, new features, and improvements to cliff detection, and more.

But we know that function and capability alone won’t drive mass home robot adoption—emotional intelligence, i.e., personality, will be the third factor essential to ushering in a new era of human-robot interaction that will ultimately lead to a robot in every home.

We are truly committed to making Vector the most engaging and entertaining robot you’ve ever interacted with. Next year we will be launching further updates so bring Vector home this holiday season to see him grow and learn about the world around him. Take this journey with us as we try to make the future of robotics a reality!

Want to stay up-to-date on Anki news? Follow Anki on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.