These three were not programmed for this. They would have been well seen to build the robots developed in the greatest secrecy by the u.s. army. Or, more probably, to conceive the vehicles of the future. They are finally not so far, if this is the only gear smart that they have created travelling at full speed on a circuit laid on the ground to the delight of the children.
Today aged 35 to 39 years, Boris Sofman, Hanns Tappeiner, and Mark Palatucci met in 2005 on the banks of the Carnegie-Mellon university, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while they were preparing their phd in robotics. They have been working on different disciplines : one on autonomous cars, the other robots able to walk and climb obstacles, the last one on the artificial intelligence.
“Something new ”
But conviction brings them together quickly : when their fellow students would be looking at heavy industrial projects, to programs, to the billions of dollars promised to lead only at the end of ten or fifteen years, they want, them, accessible robotics for everyone, and fast.
“We was confident that would happen soon, when everyone would have a robot at home. We just wanted to find the shortest path to reach there “, remembers Hanns Tappeiner.
“We were looking for all three an application of robotics to the general public. We were convinced that would happen soon, when everyone would have a robot at home. We just wanted to find the shortest path possible to achieve this goal, ” recalls Hanns Tappeiner.
Thus was born the company Anki, in 2010, while all three have not yet left the benches of the university. In order to achieve their purposes, the co-founders are betting on the toy industry. “In this sector, the traditional players were focusing on products low-cost,…
