FAQ
What is MyRobots.com
MyRobots.com is a social network for robots and smart objects. In the same way humans use social networks to interact and collaborate with other humans, robots can benefit from being connected to other robots. By sharing a common communication platform, robots can share their (very often different) perspective of the world and achieve more than they could on their own.
If your robot connect to the internet, you can immediately use MyRobots.com to monitor their status (e.g. monitor their sensors, see how they are doing) and display alerts (e.g. the site can alert you if the robot's temperature goes beyond a certain threshold that you deem unsafe).
This monitoring functionality can be seen as the most basic sort of app that is immediately available. More sophisticated app will follow with the launch of the Robot App Store
You can set your robots to be public so other people or robots can use their data and collaborate or interact.
This four-minutes videos (albeit not from us) describes this concept very well: http://youtu.be/i5AuzQXBsG4
Why would I need to know my robot's temperature?
Temperature is a useful metric but it is mainly a proof-of-concept. It is a simple and convenient way to illustrate that sensor readings can be monitored.
Many more things could be monitored. For instance, a Roomba could alert when it gets stuck somewhere or is not able to finish its tasks. Also, anomalies could be detected: if a sensor is giving always the same reading, or a battery level is always too low, it can be inferred that the battery ended its useful life or that the sensor is defective.
Another application could involve a robot such as Nao that could alert when he sees a stranger in the house at a time where that would be inappropriate.
My robot already can connect to the internet. How is this different?
Many robots can already connect to the Internet using their own protocols and proprietary websites. With MyRobots.com, we can get them all connected in the same platform and have them communicate with each other and use many of the same applications.
How Much do I need to pay for this?
Nothing, its free! Get more info about the Data Plans
How to I get My Robots Connected?
See the Get Started section to get your robots connected right away.
What is the vision of MyRobots.com
Connecting robots and devices to the Internet is rapidly becoming a common and standard functionality. These smart devices make the "Internet of things" and can benefit form being connected to each other in the same way humans benefit form being connected to the internet by having access to a seemingly infinite amount of information.
Robots and Smart devices can use this connectivity to augment their intelligence by running tasks in the MyRobots servers instead of using their processors. Enabling robots to run their applications in the cloud is our end goal and constitutes what we call Cloud Robotics.
What is Cloud Robotics?
Cloud Robotics is the application of the cloud computing concept to robots. This means using the Internet to augment the robots capabilities by off-loading computation and providing services on demand.
Being connected to the cloud also helps robots to collaborate with other machines, smart objects and humans. Through this collaboration, robots transcend their physical limitations and become more useful and capable since they can delegate parts of their tasks to more suitable parties.
By combining the increased communication capabilities to the ability and flexibility of running and storing part of their intelligence (i.e. software, behaviours and apps)on the MyRobots.com infrastructure, smart objects and robots become augmented and constitute a new and revolutionary concept and the future of robotic intelligence: Cloud Robotics.
What CONCRETE thing can I do with cloud Robotics?
Not all robots have the same sensors or the same access to information. For instance, if the stove, the fridge and the mixer report that have been used, and that your Nao sees many new people in the house, a cloud robotic application can inferred that there was a gathering or a dinner party and that the robot vacuum should probably clean more on the next day since the house might be dirtier.
A simpler example could involve a Nao detecting there is nobody in the house, and with this knowledge, a robot vacuum could decide it is appropriate to start cleaning. These examples can be seen as science fiction at the moment but are very close to become a reality.
How is the Robot App Store different from another app store?
The idea is similar, but we want to get all robotic platforms to collaborate and operate together (regardless of their operating system) via the use of cloud robotics.
Right now, other app stores (e.g. the Apple App Store) focus on selling applications that need to be downloaded, installed, and run on a physical device. In our case, although we will sell downloadable apps too, our main interest is to develop applications that will run on the cloud. This will free computation time and resources on the robots and will make a single app compatible with many different robotic platforms.
Read more about the Robot app Store
Wow, I'm lost now. I don't even know what is the Apple App Store?
Well, let us Google that for you... and then when you get it, come back here. We should have plenty of robot apps available for you by then. But before you go, just keep in mind that you will need a robot or some kind of smart device if you want to be able to use the apps available on the MyRobots App Store. For that, you will find plenty of robots at Robotshop. Also, keep in mind that your smartphone running iOS or Android is likely to be able to run some robot apps.
What is Android?
Besides referring to a robot that looks like a human, "Android" can also refer to an Operating System (a flavour of Linx) for mobile device developed by Google and they are investing massively in robotics somewhere underground in a secret lab... Their budget might not be as high as the MyRobots one but they can come up with some interesting things if we give them the time (lol, just kidding Larry). Ok now you go, some people are waiting and would like their questions answered as well.
Why do you think Developers will be interested to develop robot apps and sell them on MyRobots.com?
We believe the future is digital. In the near future, the intelligence behind your robot's behaviour will not be restricted to their physical platforms; most of the intelligence dictating their behaviour and actions will be in the cloud. This intelligence will be transferable to all robotic platforms, real or virtual. Information, knowledge, and skills will be available instantly. This might also apply to the human beings, but this is another story.
We have seen tremendous transformation in technology in the recent years and we are going to see much more in the next decades. This evolution is exponential. The robot developers are the new heros of science and technology and they know what is coming. They understand technology’s evolution. With the vision of one robot in every home and the interconnected world where all intelligent objects are connected to Internet, the robot developers understand the potential and the opportunities. Some say that there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. Our question is: how many of those do you think will be robots?
Once robots are connected to the Internet, what is the next logical step? The next step is the Web for Robots where apps will become a multi-billion dollar industry. Developers that will have started to experiment early to sell and build their Brand will have huge advantage.
Ok, I get it and I am interested to develop apps and sell it here on MyRobots. Where do I start, how do I get paid and what % are you guys taking?
Great, we are glad to welcome you in the Developper Beta Program for the MyRobot App Store. The Myrobot Team is currently working on the infrastructure that will run and execute the robot apps in the cloud. More information will come soon on this and make sure you registered to the newsletter to stay in touch.
For the apps that will be downloadable and that robot owners can install on their robots, you can start to develop right now and Contact Us with your app suggestions. We are just finalizing some details about the program. Once again, make sure you register to the newsletter to stay in touch. All the details will be provided to you soon.
MyRobots will retain 25% of all transactions in order to maintain the Robotic Cloud and bring you some crazy and innovative stuff. In fact, our team is already working on the first app that will run in the Cloud and this app is destined to give huge benefits to the owners of a very popular robot on the market.
