Never mind the humanoids, pocket robots are all the rage at IFA

Category: Technology/Innovations

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. mix / mix / (n.) – a combination of different things
    Example:

    The city has a good mix of modern and traditional buildings.


  2. pocket-sized / ˈpɒk ɪtˌsaɪzd / (adj.) – describing something small enough to fit easily inside a pocket; easy to carry
    Example:

    I bought a pocket-sized dictionary for my trip to Italy.


  3. offering / ˈɔ fər ɪŋ / (n.) – (as in business) a product, service, or choice that a company provides to customers
    Example:

    The company’s latest offering is a new smartphone with AI features.


  4. integrated / ˈɪn tɪˌgreɪ tɪd / (adj.) – (as in technology) describing a feature or component that is built into another system
    Example:

    The laptop has an integrated camera.


  5. retail / ˈri teɪl / (adj.) – relating to the sale of goods or services directly to customers, usually for their personal use
    Example:

    Customers can buy the product at the retail price of $500.


Article

Read the text below.

It had been an interesting mix at the giant electronics show in Germany. There was a pocket-sized robot to cheer you up, a watch that can count your calories, and a phone designed specifically to keep children safe. They’re all part of a joint conference led by consumer electronics company Sharp.


Sharp was one of the first brands to kick off the massive electronics show last September 3, and the company’s most eye-catching offering was the pocket-sized robot. It’s all quite different from the full-sized humanoids we have become used to seeing at these conferences.


The AI-driven character first appeared on a phone—now you can hold it in your hand and talk to it, as Sascha Lange, Sharp’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, demonstrated.


He said, “So MIA is 12 centimeters tall, has an integrated camera, and is connected to ChatGPT. It is programmed in a way that it can speak very…Oh, you can’t hear it. It’s programmed in a way that it speaks very emotionally and also moves very emotionally.”


“And MIA is already available in Japan at a retail price of around 300 euros and in Taiwan around 400 euros. So, this is a robot, quite affordable, right? And also Japan, our colleagues in Japan, last week announced the male version because she’s a lady; that’s the girl. And also the male version, which is a little bit less friendly, more straight, and that would launch in December this year. And then we have the second concept, this is Leomay, that is a European project, where we are focusing less the emotional part of the robot, but more the assistant part, so how it can really support things in life.”


Sharp also highlighted its calorie counting feature for the Karada Mate watch, which claims to track calories as the wearer eats.


IFA opened to the public on Friday, September 4, and continued until September 8.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Sharp’s MIA is a small AI-driven robot that can speak and move in an emotional way. Given the chance, would you buy and use MIA? Why or why not? Would talking to a small robot ever feel genuinely comforting to you? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • MIA was designed with an emotional style, while another Sharp project, Leomay, focuses more on helping people with practical things in daily life. Would you rather have technology that understands how you feel or something that helps you solve everyday problems? Why? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • MIA is described as relatively affordable and is priced at 300 euros (around 53,796 yen). Do you agree that MIA is affordable? When a new technology becomes affordable, do you think people are more likely to buy it? Why or why not? What is something you once thought you did not need but started to value when it became affordable and easier to get? Discuss.
  • The electronics show presents products that can talk with us, monitor our habits, or assist us with daily life. What is one part of daily life where more technology would help people, and another part where less technology would be better (ex. more technology in healthcare, less technology during family time)? Discuss.