ZMP releases SDK for 'Music Roomba'
After being out in its homeland for nearly two years, Japanese company ZMP has released the SDK to US developers for its music robot called Miuro.
Miuro is Japanese consumer robotics company ZMP's answer to the Roomba. But instead of scuttering around to perform cursory cleanup tasks, Miuro scutters around playing music.
The robot has a built-in iPod dock and can wirelessly connect to the home network and stream Windows Media Player or iTunes content, or to a wireless router to play Internet radio stations without a PC connection. Miuro is meant to act as an ambulatory stereo system with the ability to automatically perform tasks based upon outside stimuli.
For example, using the built-in optics, Miuro can be set to "wake up" at sunrise, and start playing music as an alarm. As an additionally sadistic feature, you can set it to run away from you if you try to turn down the volume. Like the Roomba, it returns to its charging station when not in use, and can be assigned a daily task routine.
| This demonstration of ZMP's sound-intensive robot shows that, just like every other small creature, Miuro just wants to be loved. |
Currently, the Miuro is commercially available only in Japan, but ZMP has hopes of getting US companies interested. Yesterday, therefore, ZMP made the Miuro SDK available to US developers who wish to create software exploiting the robot's unique capabilities. ZMP said its initial intention is getting telecommunications companies involved, but this will no doubt stir interest in the "maker" community where iRobot's Roomba has become a favorite hackable platform.