In a press release put out this morning, California-based Evolution Robotics announced that they will be licensing their ViPR (Visual Pattern Recognition) and Northstar position tracking technologies for use in WowWee’s next generation of hi-tech consumer robots and entertainment products. WowWee, who manufactures the immensely popular Robosapien and Roboraptor robots, has recently been making a conscientious effort to steer the perception of their products from remote-controlled toys to autonomous, intelligent robots. In addition to eliminating the remote controls that shipped with early models, WowWee believes that Evolution’s vision and indoor navigation systems can also play a big role in achieving that goal. The strategic alliance also marks the first time Evolution’s technology will be available in mass-market, consumer robots.
In today’s press release Richard Yanofsky, president of WowWee Robotics said, “Consumers want intelligent robots that can function autonomously, whether for pure entertainment purposes or to perform useful tasks such as fetching a beer or even helping to carry the groceries. Working closely with Evolution Robotics, we will be able to deliver these capabilities in our next generation of products.”