Eye on AI - November 4th, 2022
Welcome to Aigora's "Eye on AI" series, where we round up exciting news at the intersection of consumer science and artificial intelligence!
This week, we’ll be looking into the market expansion of Miko 3, the educational robot that helps children learn, then switching gears to address the rapid acceleration of automated farming.
Enjoy!
Best-Selling Miko 3 Teaching Robot Expands into Canada
Remember Teddy Ruxpin, the best-selling talking animatronic teddy bear that burst onto the scene in the mid-80s to share emotion-filled stories with children? Miko 3, created by India-based global consumer robotics company Miko, is the modern version of Teddy Ruxpin with AI-driven advancements and screen facial display. Not only can the Miko 3 tell stories, but it can also teach children coding, spelling, geography, life science, and even yoga, all while personalizing experiences through AI-driven emotional detection. According to the article “Canadian Families Meet Miko 3,” Miko 3 is now available in Canada.
“Ridiculously smart. Seriously fun. Loved by kids in 140 countries — now including Canada. Miko 3, the bestselling kids robot, has arrived in Canada just in time to spread some undeniable holiday magic,” reads the official press release.
Readers familiar with the robotic toy market may already know of the Miko 3, which was first released in 2017. Numerous improvements and partnerships have been announced since then. Miko 3 became the first kid's robot to launch an official Disney app this past November, with additional product and partnership advances announced in conjunction with the Canada release.
“The Canada market launch comes amid numerous Miko 3 enhancements, including even more engaging facial expressions, an even more emotive voice, interactive experiences like Freeze Dance, and storybooks featuring beloved Disney and Pixar characters,” continues the press release.
The Canada announcement comes at peak buying time before the holiday sales push, and gives Miko a strong position amid a surging educational robotics market that’s expected to double by 2027.
AI & Robots May Soon Grow Most of Our Food
Switching gears, we turn now to one of our favorite topics: precision farming. According to the article “AI Farming: Artificial Intelligence and Bots are Now Growing Our Food,” a rapid acceleration of AI-driven farming automation is currently underway to address rapidly changing growing conditions.
“What does the future hold for farming?” writes Bein Crypto contributor Nicole Buckler. “From here, the road ahead is exciting. It will be fully automated, and very environmentally friendly. In fact, the move to fully automated farming is already underway.”
Precision farming, or the practice of breaking up the land into smaller parts and being more precise with farming methods to reduce waste and improve efficiencies, is perhaps the most common and best way for farms to increase efficiencies. The idea is to treat each crop as an individual and to utilize different nurturing methods for each to produce the best possible outcomes. Breaking up farms into smaller sections makes crop personalization possible with the help of AI.
“What if… small robots were self-driving, and could be the size of a vacuum cleaner?” continues Buckler. “They can go out and treat every plant as an individual. This means that they are precise with fertilizers or pesticides. They can reduce compaction because these tiny machines don’t weigh much. By operating in swarms, they can still cover very large areas.”
Soil health and weather can also be monitored and predicted using AI. Self-driving robots can be notified by AI-systems to adjust behavior accordingly. Farmers can see predicted crop yield in real-time to better plan for storage and distribution. All of it automated, with humans on the backend monitoring each system. These interconnected farming systems are already available, yet adoption still comes with certain complications.
“All of the above can’t move forward until all remote areas have the right infrastructure,” continues Buckler. “None of this works if farms don’t have a signal. If there is not 4G or 5G in the fields, the dream dies. But for now, the future of farming using artificial intelligence is fascinating.”
Other News
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