Providing all of you with affordable, expressive, and capable robotics platforms has resulted in some truly inspiring and impactful work, from Dr. Amelia Moody’s work at the University of North Carolina with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to Prof. Dave Touretzky’s Calypso software being used by hundreds of young students to learn about artificial intelligence. Below are a few recent Cozmo- and Vector-related projects that are not to be missed.

We wish all of you a safe and joyous winter break and look forward to seeing what new heights you take Vector and Cozmo to in the new year.

The Karate Cozmo

The inimitable Dave Schaefer, aka Life with Cozmo, has returned with an epic—and binge-worthy—three-part YouTube miniseries that pays homage to the classic ’80s film , The Karate Kid, as well as the more recent Cobra Kai offshoot. The episodes feature clever writing, incredible production, and so many Easter eggs you’ll have to rewatch them multiple times to catch them all.

Proxima City

Many people unfamiliar with our technologies are surprised to learn that our robots can be and are used in enterprise. Last year, SAP integrated Cozmo with its IoT platform (full tutorial can be found here). More recently, enterprise giant Oracle showed off its Proxima City demo with Cozmo, which highlights the company’s autonomous cloud services.

Cozmo City

In a completely different take on Cozmo navigating a city, the talented folks at Mediadesign Innovation Hub in Germany have crafted an augmented reality exploration using Google’s ARCore and the Cozmo SDK. While others, including ourselves, have dabbled in some AR experiments, this demo in particular offers a tantalizing glimpse of what’s possible when bridging real and virtual worlds.

VectorCloud

Created by rmountjoy and inspired by OctoPrint, VectorCloud provides a web-based interface to control and interface with Vector, in addition to organizing SDK scripts. Future features on the roadmap include photo and video management, and a plugin manager. We have a feeling this project will be a fan favorite for quite some time.

VectorCloud, a web-based interface for interacting with Vector. | Image: @rmountjoy

Vector Explorer Tool

One of the most popular Cozmo SDK projects is the Cozmo Explorer Tool. It serves as a comprehensive interface for event monitoring, animation sorting and viewing, and more, and is useful for exploring all of Cozmo’s various hardware and software features. And now, creator GrinningHermit is developing it for Vector, complete with game controller support. Even in its early state, it’s quite the convenient tool—especially for exploring Vector’s large set of animations.

The Vector Explorer Tool is sure to be an indispensable tool for all SDK users. | Image: GrinningHermit

VectorCards

Last but not least, elknerps has integrated Vector with the You Only Look Once (YOLO) object detection system to have him play a game of blackjack—with real cards. The project is a perfect example of how open and flexible the Vector platform is, and demonstrates how the same concept can be implemented in vastly different ways using Vector’s multitude of hardware and software capabilities (Vector has a built-in blackjack game that utilizes his screen to display cards).

Developer Resources

Be sure to visit the links below to see the full range of projects, get links to source code, and engage with our official developer community.

• Anki Developer YouTube — Subscribe and see how others are using our robotics and AI technologies.

• Anki Developer Forums — Visit the official developer community to converse with others, download projects, and more.

• Getting Started with the Cozmo SDK — New to the Cozmo SDK? This post provides info, resources, and more.

• Getting Started with the Vector SDK — Find tips and instructions on how to install and use the Vector SDK alpha.

Today, we’re thrilled to announce the public availability of the Vector SDK alpha. It gives you access to Vector’s multitude of hardware and software technologies including:

• HD color camera stream
• Infrared laser scanner
• Face and emotion recognition
• High-res color IPS screen
• Capacitive touch sensor
• Four drop sensors
• Hundreds of unique animations
• Six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU)
• Custom vision markers

The Vector SDK utilizes Python, a programming language used in everything from machine learning to introductory computer science courses. There are also thousands of third-party libraries Vector can tap into, allowing you to augment his capabilities as you see fit. We recommend visiting the SDK Showcase forum to see what others are doing with the SDK, and sharing your own projects.

The SDK comes with a 3D viewer that presents Vector’s understanding of the world.

On a final note, unlike the launch of the Cozmo SDK which launched in beta form, we released a pre-alpha version of the SDK to those of you who backed our Kickstarter campaign. This alpha release of the SDK would not have been possible without all of your insights and feedback, so an enormous thanks to you all.

The included remote control example program gives you manual control of Vector’s hardware and animations.

We have more coming for the SDK in the new year so be sure to check in for new announcements in the official Anki developer forums.

• SDK Documentation — Access installation instructions, the API reference, and example programs.

• Vector SDK FAQ — Get up to speed by reviewing frequently asked questions.

• Getting Started — Must-read post with handy tips on installing and using the SDK.

• Anki Developer YouTube — Subscribe and see how others are using our robotics and AI technologies.

Vector also brings a multitude of new technologies to our developer community. Comprised of nearly 700 parts—double that of Cozmo—Vector has built-in online connectivity, a color HD camera, a four-microphone array, a time-of-flight sensor, and much more.

A look at Vector’s hardware technologies.

Best of all, we’ll be releasing a free SDK for Vector early next year allowing you to harness all of his new hardware and software technologies.

Want to get early access to the SDK and help shape its features? Users who pre-order Vector during the limited-time promotion will gain access to the SDK alpha this winter, in addition to a 20% discount and some other great insider perks.*

Early access Vector SDK users will help define the platform.

How to Pre-order

• For the US, we’ve partnered with the fine folks at Kickstarter to support the launch of Vector. Head on over to the campaign page to lock in your early SDK access and special pricing.

• UK residents can simply head over to www.anki.com for pre-order details.

• Australia residents should visit our friends at JB Hi-Fi to pre-order Vector.

• Live in Canada? You can pre-order Vector through our friends at Best Buy.

We’ll have much more to say about Vector in the coming days and weeks so keep an eye on the Kickstarter page for exclusive news, videos, and more.

Until then, visit the new Vector SDK forum and let us know what features you’d love to see in the SDK.

* Not all perks will be available in all territories. See the relevant Vector pre-order page for details on your region.

But as simple as the SDK is to use for those with some technical know-how, we knew a greater challenge was on the horizon: finding a way to give all users, regardless of age or experience, a way to access, learn, and engage with robotics in a compelling way. That’s why we introduced Cozmo Code Lab, a drag-and-drop programming interface based on the Scratch Blocks project, a collaboration between MIT Media Lab and Google.

With Code Lab, users gain instant access to sophisticated features including facial recognition and path planning, along with a repertoire of world-class animations created by a team of Hollywood veterans.

The response thus far has been humbling, with parents, students, and educators using Cozmo and Code Lab in after-school programs, workshops, and robotics clubs. iD Tech, the esteemed tech camp organization, is even offering two Cozmo-based courses next summer, one of which uses Code Lab to teach students about artificial intelligence, programming, and robotics. In many respects, Code Lab has already accomplished what it set out to do. That’s not to say Code Lab’s journey has come to an end—in fact, quite the contrary.

The current Code Lab experience uses an intuitive, icon-based interface that’s perfect for novices.

Arriving December 5 via a free app update, we’re greatly expanding Code Lab’s capabilities to include many user-requested features including if statements, math operators, variables, function calls, and more. Not only are the number and types of blocks increasing, we’re also introducing vertically-oriented block stacks that more closely mirror the way text-based code is structured.

Tiny Orchestra is one of the included Featured Projects, and allows users to create a symphony using Cozmo’s cubes.

The combination of increased functionality and enhanced presentation serves as the perfect middle ground between the streamlined, icon-based Code Lab that’s currently available, and the full Python-based SDK. As part of the revamped Code Lab experience, we’ll be calling the current interface Sandbox Mode, and the new one Constructor Mode.

With so many inspiring projects already created using Code Lab and the SDK, we know many of you will use the new Code Lab experience to surprise and delight the world in ways we can’t yet imagine. With that in mind, we’re also introducing user-created Featured Projects, making it easier than ever before to captivate and entertain Cozmo users around the world with your Code Lab experiences.

An early look at the revamped Code Lab user interface.

Expect to hear much more regarding Code Lab in the coming weeks. Until then, let us know what feature you’re most looking forward to in the comments below.

The new 3D visualizer included with the 1.0 update.

While many of you have already been using the SDK for such purposes over the last year, we tried out best to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ’t’ in this latest release with the aim of making it the most polished and useful yet. We hope the newly included 3D visualizer will be of particular value to many of you.

What’s Next

We’ll continue to take all of your feedback, bug reports, and feature requests in the SDK forums as we plan future releases, so please don’t be shy. And, as always, keep the thought-provoking, funny, and critical discussions coming.

1.0 makes Cozmo a happy robot.

Ultimately, the SDK is shaped by and exists for the community. Without all of you and your extraordinary work, it simply wouldn’t be making the impact across fields as diverse as entertainment, education, and enterprise that it is today. We can’t wait to see what all of you do next.

• For the full 1.0 release notes, check out this forum post.

• Need help installing the SDK? Watch the installation tutorials on our developer YouTube channel.

• Already have the SDK installed? Read the Getting Started with SDK blog post.

Our SDK forums are a fascinating source of discussion, feedback, and user projects. One area the forum format doesn’t quite lend itself to is deeper, richer explorations of ideas, user content, and people. That’s where this blog comes in.

Moving forward, we hope to use this blog to shine a light on some of the incredible projects and people using the SDK, provide more detailed help and tutorials, and much more. If there’s a topic in particular you’d like to see us post about, let us know in the comments below.