Aug 2 2017
Planet of the Robots: the Future of Artificial Intelligence. Travelmate is the world's first robot and suitcase all in one. It's been featured on CNN, USA Today, Huffington Post, the Mirror, Business Insider, and on many other websites.
The American team behind Travelmate is based in San Francisco and has created a fully featured robot in the form of a suitcase that follows you around on its own. It's perfect when you're going to work, walking to school, traveling or even when you're shopping. What really sets it apart is the technology behind this robot. In order for it to be fully autonomous and navigate through obstacles, it needs to be able to adapt in real time. In addition to a variety of sensors, Travelmate applies elements of artificial intelligence in a way that is both practical and astounding.
There are many interpretations of what artificial intelligence really means. What's really exciting is that artificial intelligence is no longer in the realms of science fiction. It's a real thing that's already been applied to much of the technology that you use everyday. Google uses the most common searches to improve its results. Ads use your past browsing habits to advertise based on what you want.
But Travelmate is a more obvious example of how elements of artificial intelligence are being applied right now. With Travelmate, you see something that combines robotics with adaptive elements of artificial intelligence that uses data to navigate through obstacles, adjust its speed and go through crowds without losing you. It even senses when someone else is trying to steal it and locks its wheels automatically to prevent theft. In addition, it has GPS tracking so you always know where your stuff is.
There is a lot of speculation about what artificial intelligence eventually leads to. In science fiction and in Hollywood movies, you see robots eventually gaining sentience and often revolting against their human captors. In real life however, will that actually be the case? One thing I know for sure is that Travelmate robots probably won't be the robots that take over the planet and enslave us...
With that thought out of the way, what we actually see is that artificial intelligence is diverging from classical interpretations. We try to characterize artificial intelligence through the lenses of our own intelligence, but the structure of AI fundamentally differs from the way that humans think.
We can't run a thousand processes and search the web for millions of results in the span of less than a second. We can't run thousands of simulations instantly to suggest the ideal future reaction that we should have to a given situation. So it is flawed to think that artificial intelligence means that robots will gain sentience in the traditional sense.
Instead, we should look to a future that implements artificial intelligence in ways that benefit us and not hurt us. And Travelmate is the perfect example of the first steps towards that.
What we've heard from Travelmate Robotics definitely confirms that line of thinking. They say that there is potential for thousands of different features for their robot. Travelmate pairs with your phone to know where you are. They have their own application that you can install on your phone. In that same app, you can add more features through add-ons. So think of it as an app store for your suitcase. They're developing more features for it and they're allowing third party developers to add features as well.
The future of consumer robotics is incredibly exciting and Travelmate is leading the charge. It's the only fully autonomous robot and suitcase all in one that you can buy right now. Elements of artificial intelligence are helping to make Travelmate smarter and better able to handle your everyday needs. The goal of a Travelmate is to become a fully fledged robot assistant.