Asus Zenbo is an E.T.-like home robot with a touchscreen face

Writing about tech is often straightforward. But finding words for Asus' Zenbo home robot, announced just before the start of the Computex trade show in Taipei, is a tougher task. The multi-faceted robot is hard to categorize and, well, just plain weird. 

Designed to provide "assistance, entertainment and companionship to families," the Zenbo looks as if E.T. got together with an iMac G4. The robot is partly a home surveyor, and partly an Amazon Echo-style assistant. 

It can understand spoken commands, so you can do thinks like tell it to remind you of a doctor's appointment. It also automatically monitors the home for emergency situations, notifying family members via a smartphone when something bad happens. It has a built-in camera (great for taking family photos, Asus claims) and can be remotely controlled, say to check what your dog or toddler is doing.  Read more...