Meet Vector, Anki’s charming new robot

Anki is back. Two years after launching Cozmo and five years after launching Anki Drive, the company is introducing a robot for the home. 

Vector is not a toy but rather a joyful, smart home robot — and no it’s not a Roomba, and it isn’t a large robot that can teach you yoga. It can fit in your palm and Anki sees it as the big brother to Cozmo: Vector is a smarter, more intelligent robot that doesn’t need a connection to a device.

That’s the first big difference. The second is how Anki is bringing Vector to market. Rather than launching directly from a retailer, the company is going after early-early-adopters via a Kickstarter launch today. More specifically, a 30-day campaign that will wrap on Sept. 30 gives those early customers a 20 percent discount on the $249 price. You also get early access to the SDK and the robot ships three days before the official launch. Read more…

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