We spent 4 crazy months constructing 2,000 Romos by hand.
The
first 100 went out before Christmas, in boxes stuffed with candy canes.
The next 1,900 went out in batches as we learned how to build them here
in our apartment in Las Vegas
We're super proud of our all new robot.
This next-gen Romo is
*almost* everything a personal robot should be. He’s cute, responsive,
and really fast, but he’s still not capable of doing all that stuff you
see in the movies.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Now that we’ve got a bigger/faster/stronger robot, we need your help to develop software that will make him even better.
We've created great basic apps for Romo, and he's super fun to play with.
But we have a bigger vision. We want to create really advanced software that lets Romo do the things robots do in the movies.
Romo reviews the advanced software actions we want him to perform...
Right now, there’s no wallet-friendly, backpack-sized consumer robot on the market that does these things:
Remote 2-way telepresence
Computer vision
Autonomous navigation
Facial recognition
We want to change that, and we need your support.
Your pledge funds the development of these features, which we'll release in updated apps.
We'll also wrap an SDK around each of these functions so other developers can create their own apps and share them with you.
WHAT YOU GET
With a pledge of $150, you will be one of the first to receive a brand new, next generation Romo.
You're our beta testers. Tell us what you think of features we've toiled over like the all new tilt mechanism.
WHAT YOU NEED TO GET GOING
Romo is a BYOD robot (bring your own devices). We've made him easy to operate using a wide variety of iDevices.
Just a few of the devices you can use with Romo.
Dock any one of these babies on your mobile robotic base:
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
iPod Touch 4th Generation
Drive your Romo using one of the following:
iPod Touch 3rd Generation and up
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 3GS
iPad 2
New iPad
any Mac computer running OS 10.6 or later
Web browsers including any version of Chrome (Google), Safari (Apple), and Firefox (Mozilla)
We're back on Kickstarter because we want to put our robot into
the hands of hackers, creatives, and robot nerds before anyone else.
This robot is your sandbox. Together we can make the robot-for-everyone dream a reality.
FAQs:
Q: You keep calling Romo a "he." Is this robot a boy?
A: Yes. Our new robot progeny is male. However, we plan a female version of Romo next, code name "Julia."
Q: Your first robot supported Android, but this one says "iDevice." What's the deal?
A: We
asked our engineering team if they would support Android again and they
ran screaming. No seriously, it was taking us a ton of time to support
various Android platforms, so we decided to focus on Apple devices for
initial development. There are Android devotees among us though, so
plans are in the works.
Q: Does this Romo work with an iPhone 5?
A: Yep,
well, sort of. Our new Romo can be controlled by an iPhone 5 running
our app - but use an older device with the 30 pin dock connector on the
robotic base. We're designing the next robot to use the new Lightning
connector as a docking station. Check on our website for a complete list of iDevice combos that work.
We
did this for a few reasons. First, cause we're still testing the
Lightning connector with our robot. Second, because supply is
constrained for production-capacity orders, and third, most of our users
will take 3-6 months to buy their new iPhones.
Plus, we heard most of you want to put an older device on the robot and keep your new iPhone in your hot little hands.
Q: Why come back to Kickstarter?
A: Easy.
Kickstarter is home. It's where we launched, and where you saved us
from a fate worse than death - one potential investor's recommendation
that we pivot out of smartphone robotics and into laser-controlled robot
light shows. You told us you loved Romo, and there's no better place,
with no better people, to figure out how to build a robot with advanced
functions packed into a beautiful, easy to use robot for everyone.
Q: Your Romo Rebooted tier says "The Classic." Does that mean you're giving me the older robot instead of a new one?! WTH?!
A:
Nope, sorry about that one, we just meant it's 'the classic'
Kickstarter tier - pledge one amount, get one awesome reward in the
form of one small, new robot.
Q: The guys who built Romo are pretty hot. Are they single?
B: Unfortunately the founders are taken. Romo, however, replies "it's complicated."
Special thanks to:
Patricia
Buck and family (Congrats Trish and Patrick!), Tony Hsieh, Principal
Diana Albiston, Technology Specialist Lois Holman, and the kids in Mrs.
Berger's Fourth Grade Class at Hollingsworth Elementary, Brian Canning
of Swiss Bank Account, Daniel Clark for the sick cuts, Matt Franks for
wicked ID, the great staff at the Ogden (we love you Gary, Brian and
Paul!!), Jennifer and the crew at the Beat coffeeshop, artiste
extraordinaire Leticia Maldonado, the tourists on Fremont Street who
gave Romo some love, Phu, Keller, Peter, Romo, AND ALL OF YOU for giving
us dream jobs.
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