May 26 2017
Vincross, developer of programmable robots that provide individuals unprecedented access into robotics, has been named a 2017 CES Asia Innovation Award Honoree in Robotics for its flagship product, HEXA.
HEXA, a six-legged, all-terrain, highly maneuverable robot that can fit in your backpack, and its associated operating system (OS), MIND OS, were selected for the award for its breakthrough in making robotics development accessible for people of all technical abilities.
Previously, robotics has been a challenging field for individuals to break into: prohibitive in cost, convenience and complexity, robots have been mostly confined to research labs. Now, Vincross’ comprehensive ecosystem of robotic hardware and software delivers individuals all the tools needed to start creating and learning. Using Vincross’ well-designed MIND SDK and easy-to-follow documentation, one can program HEXA to run, climb, dance and perform specific tasks in no time at all.
“Robotics is the largest and perhaps most exciting growth area in technology. But today, access is surprisingly limited and so are innovation and practical use cases,” said Tianqi Sun, founder and CEO Vincross. “HEXA represents a significant breakthrough in robotics. For the first time, individuals can explore and develop on a robotics system that is as sophisticated as it is simple-to-use. We are thrilled that the prestigious CES community recognizes our achievements in driving progress.”
Vincross’ ecosystem is the result of extensive research and development, as delivered by a team of some of the best minds in artificial intelligence, robotics, neuroscience, and hardware in China. The company is funded by top venture capital firms, GGV Capital and ZhenFund. In addition to today's award, Vincross' CEO and founder Tianqi Sun was named Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (2017) and HEXA was the recipient of IFdesign product award (2017).
Vincross’ ecosystem is comprised of the following components:
- HEXA: HEXA is a robot designed to thrive in the real world. Its six-legged structure delivers a high level of maneuverability and therefore versatility in the functions it can perform. It nimbly handles different environments and terrains and its compact, lightweight body makes it convenient to fit into your daily life and easy to tinker on. HEXA’s camera allows it to interact with and learn from the world around it. Other sensors include two three-axis accelerometers for balance and a built-in distance measuring sensor for avoiding obstacles.
- MIND OS: MIND OS is based on the Linux kernel and is optimized for robots. It integrates various libraries and drivers to easily and safely control the robot hardware and network. On MIND OS, individuals can integrate voice interaction and third-party device interaction with your mobile phone or IoT home appliances. All Vincross robots are equipped with MIND OS.
- MIND SDK: With Vincross' intuitive and simple-to-use MIND SDK and thorough documentation, individuals can create Skills (i.e. applications) and movements with just a few lines of code. MIND SDK supports Golang and seamlessly integrates third-party libraries, such as ROS, OpenCV, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. With a highly abstracted toolkit, there’s no need to know underlying hardware and software protocols, which means individuals are free to focus on building software applications that bring ideas to life.
Today, individuals can order HEXA online and also join the 2,048 Human Mentor program, HEXA's community of developers. In addition, HEXA will be available via a U.S. crowdfunding campaign in the coming months. Join the mailing list for announcements and availability
Meet HEXA at CES Asia at Booth 2620 in N2.
Join HEXA's hacker contest at the DEFCON conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 27–30.