Amazon Echo and Google Home are battling to become the maker of top smart speakers in the United States. Chinese Internet giant Baidu is also now teaming up with AiNemo to build a home robot named Xiaoyu Zaijia ("Little Fish"). The robotic Internet of Things (IoT) device features a big screen, a camera, and voice assistant feature like Amazon's Alexa.
Baidu's little robot will be made for China. The tech company showed it off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Jan. 5, Thursday.
It responds to the "xiaoyu xiaoyu" wake word and moves its head to watch a person who is talking, according to The Verge.
The Baidu robot uses facial recognition tech to make sure only authorized adults can give orders. This security feature stymies kids from hacking it.
Little Fish runs on Baidu's DuerOS platform. It has already been used for applications such as a phone assistant app, set-TV OS, and KFC waiter.
Baidu's goal is to build DuerOS into a wide range of gadgets. The company believes the platform will become a game-changer for smart home devices and be used in many business models.
The bot responds to voice commands. Users can set timers, make video calls, and show pictures like sharks on the display screen. They can also give Little Fish voice commands to order meals or groceries.
The Chinese robot also has a feature of many other robots at CES 2017. Users can use their smartphones for remote access to the machine's camera and then view the area around it.
Baidu chief scientist Andrew Ng gave a demo of the new robot for AFP. He shared he thinks 2017 will be the year of "conversational computing," according to China Technology News.
This year's trade show features several digital assistant capabilities. They were built using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa technology.
China-based Lenovo, for example, shared it is rolling out an Alexa-powered smart home assistant.
Chinese tech giant Huawei also reported at CES it is adding Amazon's Alexa to its flagship smartphone before its U.S. launch.
Baidu's Little Fish robot will be available in China this spring for about $300. It is unlikely to be rolled out to the U.S.
Here's a video on CES 2017: