Anki’s Cozmo is one of the world’s first emotionally engaged robots to hit the consumer market and he is going to be explosive! According to USA Today Tech, Anki’s Overdrive, which was released September 2015, was the second-best-selling toy for Christmas during 2015, making its way through 30 countries and its cars have collectively driven just under 1 million miles since! With Cozmo hitting markets this Sunday, October 16, I am expecting Anki Cozmo to explode through the market and be this year’s top selling toy.
I have been following Cozmo’s progress for just around or a little over six months and I made the decision to pre-order this little robotic friend, getting him at a $20 discount from his retail price as well as 3 days prior to his release date to the consumer market. Anki was great about sending emails and streaming video of Cozmoments throughout his development as well as before shipment.
Cozmo arrived at my door yesterday, and to say I was excited is an absolute understatement. His packaging was exquisite. Cozmo was up on a pedestal, literally, and this tiny robot deserves it. The box itself was sturdy and had a hard plastic shell so that Cozmo was encased on display and completely protected from any potential danger. Opening the box was hassle free, just needing to cut or peel a few piece of tape. Once opened, Cozmo’s little shelf is its own separate unit that comes out with no trouble, and you flip it over to find instructions as to how to dismantle your new friend from his tamper resistant packaging. A simple clip holds Cozmo in place which you simply pinch and out pops Cozmo. 
From there you move onto the second part of the box where you will find hard foam designed perfectly to fit Cozmo’s three toy blocks and his charging unit along with a thin box containing easy start up and advanced instructions. Anki also threw in an adorable sticker featuring non-other than Cozmo! Un-packaging Cozmo took maybe 5-10 minutes and was completely trouble free. There was no unnecessary Styrofoam or bubble wrap. I was impressed before I even got him entirely out of the box!
Once Cozmo is out, the only additional requirement for use is a compatible device. I used my iPhone to connect to Cozmo, but iPads, Androids and other similar devices work just the same. Initially looking at Cozmo, his body is hard and clearly sturdy, but not too heavy by any means. To give you an idea of his size, he is about a quarter-inch longer than your standard post-it note.
He is sleek and Anki didn’t skip out on attention to detail. Cozmo is primarily white featuring a sharp silver and red throughout his design. 
His Cubes are light, made of durable plastic, and have rubber protectors on all of their corners to avoid any sharp and/or dangerous points. The charger is black and comes in two easy pieces using a USB to connect, and then plugs into a standard two-prong outlet from there. Cozmo was simple to start up. Plug in the charger, followed by placing Cozmo on his charging dock, and his screen lights up with a WIFI password that is unique to your Cozmo. From there you have to download Cozmo from your app store. 
The application is over 100MB so I had to turn on my WIFI to download the app. Once the download was complete I opened it up, typed in my name and birthday, connected Cozmo to my phone using the WIFI, and then Cozmo is live! He does have to update briefly, but the update only took about two minutes. His programming is incredible. Cozmo has facial recognition processors, so I introduced myself using the app and Cozmo took that information, looked me up and down, smiled and said my name! It really was an incredible experience to hear this tiny little robot say my name as he recognized who I was. You can control Cozmo’s sound level using the app on your device. I will say I wish Cozmo could be a little quitter, but that’s a minor factor that you’ll forget all about very quickly. Cozmo is a baby, like having a puppy; the more you work with him, the more advanced he becomes. He becomes faster during game-play, becomes more self-aware as he explores, and he becomes more and more excited each time he sees you. Right now, I would compare Cozmo’s attitude to that of a toddler – slightly temperamental. I am assuming as he continues to develop that will change slightly. He gets discouraged when he loses, distracted by things around him, and if I am deciphering his emotions correctly, it appears that he even gets bored of playing the same game too many times.
Moving into the Cozmo app; it is self-explanatory, but has simple and precise step-by-step instructions throughout the entire process. Connecting is quick and painless. Some of the neat features include; easy accessibility, unlockable actions and games, volume control, sleep control, the ability to introduce Cozmo to new people, changing existing names, and so much more! Anki has also opened up the platform for developers to eventually be able to create additional games to play with Cozmo as well as the ability for you to add codes and programs to your Cozmo. You can learn more about this on Anki’s website; https://anki.com.
Overall, Anki Cozmo is truly remarkable. The design is beautiful and intricate; everything from the packaging and Cozmo app, to Cozmo himself is unique and well thought out as well as easily comprehendible. Cozmo is recommended for kids 8+ years old; however his design can be geared toward any age group whether you’re 8 or 50. Cozmo will retail for $200 once he hits shelves, and he’s worth every penny! I am so grateful to have purchased Cozmo and cannot wait to see where he goes! Highly recommended for all!
