Specifications:
Size Approximately Φ111 x Approximately 216 mm
Mass About 1085g
Display specifications kinds Liquid crystal display
Size 4.55inch
Resolution 1280 x 720 pixels
Other specifications OS Android (TM) 7.1 * 1
CPU 1.8GHz (dual core) + 1.4GHz (quad core) Hexa core (Snapdragon 650)
Built-in memory (RAM) 3GB
Built-in memory (ROM) 32GB
External memory ---
Wifi IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac compliant
NFC powered by
Bluetooth (R) Bluetooth (R) 4.2 compliant
camera Approximately 13.2 million effective pixels Back-illuminated stacked CMOS image sensor Exmor RS for mobile
sensor Acceleration / Geomagnetism / GPS / Gyro / Illuminance / Atmospheric pressure / Temperature / Humidity / Human feeling
motor 3 axes (main body rotation, head up and down, neck left and right)
speaker Monaural speaker
Microphone 7 channel multi microphone
Connecting terminal USB Type-C (data transfer), DC jack (for power supply)
Power supply AC adapter (36W)
Battery capacity Approximately 2300mAh (built-in battery) * 2
Mass About 1085g
Display specifications kinds Liquid crystal display
Size 4.55inch
Resolution 1280 x 720 pixels
Other specifications OS Android (TM) 7.1 * 1
CPU 1.8GHz (dual core) + 1.4GHz (quad core) Hexa core (Snapdragon 650)
Built-in memory (RAM) 3GB
Built-in memory (ROM) 32GB
External memory ---
Wifi IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac compliant
NFC powered by
Bluetooth (R) Bluetooth (R) 4.2 compliant
camera Approximately 13.2 million effective pixels Back-illuminated stacked CMOS image sensor Exmor RS for mobile
sensor Acceleration / Geomagnetism / GPS / Gyro / Illuminance / Atmospheric pressure / Temperature / Humidity / Human feeling
motor 3 axes (main body rotation, head up and down, neck left and right)
speaker Monaural speaker
Microphone 7 channel multi microphone
Connecting terminal USB Type-C (data transfer), DC jack (for power supply)
Power supply AC adapter (36W)
Battery capacity Approximately 2300mAh (built-in battery) * 2
Discontinued as of September 2021. Price non-standard and set by retailer.
ROBO-UNI Official Outfits
The Xperia Hello! Exclusive uniform manufactured by Rocket Road, which develops the robot apparel brand "ROBO-UNI", is designed and manufactured using Japanese cutting-edge materials and advanced sewing technology so as not to hinder movement. In addition, all are one-of-a-kind items made with great care by Japanese sewing technicians.
Xperia Hello! Developer Interview
Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
Smart Product Division Product Planning Division
Manabu Shiroi
Shiroi: "Xperia Hello!" Is a product that falls into the category of so-called communication robots, and is the third product of the "smart products" that we have developed under the Xperia brand over the past few years. In general, the basic function of these products is to talk to users or to be useful, but "Xperia Hello!" Goes one step further and aims to become a "family member". .. Sony has released a variety of products so far, but it's been a long time since Sony has been able to provide value as something that is "living (feeling)".
What kind of experience can you get with "Xperia Hello!"?
Shiroi: "Xperia Hello!" Has three key features. One is, of course, "communication." Until now, the smart product "Xperia Ear" has proposed a new style of "hands-free", and "Xperia Touch" has changed communication "by creating a new place for families to gather", but "Xperia" In "Hello!", I especially want to change the communication between people and things.
It is unique that the robot recognizes the user and actively talks to them from the other side. Nowadays, the topic of smart speakers basically works in response to calls from us.
Shiroi: In "Xperia Hello!", In order to be a "family member", I wanted to build a relationship that makes it feel as if humans are interacting with each other, rather than acting only when humans need it. rice field. It is very difficult to read the frequency and timing of talking and the atmosphere, but this time I dare to challenge it.
You can communicate more naturally by talking to them, and you can use it right after you buy it, but you don't have to worry that you will not use it before you know it.
Shiroi: In addition, we also have functions to promote and activate communication between family members based on anniversary information such as birthdays and schedule information. Since it also supports videophone and LINE message transmission / reception, it can be widely used as a communication hub.
Please tell us about the remaining two features.
Shiroi: The second is "watching over." By linking with the message function of LINE, it is possible to know the state of the house from the outside. When you ask "Tell me what your house looks like" from the outside, it will tell you the name of the person at home that you grasped using the face recognition function, such as "I saw Gaku-san 15 minutes ago." .. It also supports indoor shooting using the built-in camera. The state of the room where "Xperia Hello!" Is placed can be checked with a photo while outside. It is also a point that you can check it on LINE, which you usually use.
And the last one is the "infotainment" function that remembers a person's face and provides optimized information to that person. It has a function to select and provide the information necessary for the person, such as news and traffic information. If your father commute on the Yamanote line and your mother commute on the Keihin Tohoku line, the image is that the delay information on the Yamanote line is only given to your father. Of course, news can be read aloud. You can also display related photos on the front display.
Smart Product Division Product Planning Division
Manabu Shiroi
Shiroi: "Xperia Hello!" Is a product that falls into the category of so-called communication robots, and is the third product of the "smart products" that we have developed under the Xperia brand over the past few years. In general, the basic function of these products is to talk to users or to be useful, but "Xperia Hello!" Goes one step further and aims to become a "family member". .. Sony has released a variety of products so far, but it's been a long time since Sony has been able to provide value as something that is "living (feeling)".
What kind of experience can you get with "Xperia Hello!"?
Shiroi: "Xperia Hello!" Has three key features. One is, of course, "communication." Until now, the smart product "Xperia Ear" has proposed a new style of "hands-free", and "Xperia Touch" has changed communication "by creating a new place for families to gather", but "Xperia" In "Hello!", I especially want to change the communication between people and things.
It is unique that the robot recognizes the user and actively talks to them from the other side. Nowadays, the topic of smart speakers basically works in response to calls from us.
Shiroi: In "Xperia Hello!", In order to be a "family member", I wanted to build a relationship that makes it feel as if humans are interacting with each other, rather than acting only when humans need it. rice field. It is very difficult to read the frequency and timing of talking and the atmosphere, but this time I dare to challenge it.
You can communicate more naturally by talking to them, and you can use it right after you buy it, but you don't have to worry that you will not use it before you know it.
Shiroi: In addition, we also have functions to promote and activate communication between family members based on anniversary information such as birthdays and schedule information. Since it also supports videophone and LINE message transmission / reception, it can be widely used as a communication hub.
Please tell us about the remaining two features.
Shiroi: The second is "watching over." By linking with the message function of LINE, it is possible to know the state of the house from the outside. When you ask "Tell me what your house looks like" from the outside, it will tell you the name of the person at home that you grasped using the face recognition function, such as "I saw Gaku-san 15 minutes ago." .. It also supports indoor shooting using the built-in camera. The state of the room where "Xperia Hello!" Is placed can be checked with a photo while outside. It is also a point that you can check it on LINE, which you usually use.
And the last one is the "infotainment" function that remembers a person's face and provides optimized information to that person. It has a function to select and provide the information necessary for the person, such as news and traffic information. If your father commute on the Yamanote line and your mother commute on the Keihin Tohoku line, the image is that the delay information on the Yamanote line is only given to your father. Of course, news can be read aloud. You can also display related photos on the front display.
Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
Smart product division
Agent Planning and Development Office Manager
Yoshinori Kurata
Please tell us about the background behind the planning of "Xperia Hello!".
Kurata: In 2012, there was a major breakthrough in speech recognition technology, which is one of the key technologies for interactive solutions. Voice recognition, which had been processed standalone until then, can now be used on mobile phones by utilizing the cloud. By utilizing this, we thought that we could realize an interactive solution that was not possible before, so we resumed development. First of all, we have realized the voice control function of the watch-type wearable device "SmartBand Talk".
So far, smart product products are in the same trend, aren't they?
Kurata: Yes. On top of that, "movement" was emphasized in "Xperia Hello!" This time. I've known this since I was developing robots, but in communication with people, "movement" has as much influence on how you feel as "voice". When a thing "moves", it changes from "being" to "being". I thought it would be worth it.
And that "movement" ends up in the "face" and "eyes" in the field of communication. At the development stage of "Xperia Hello!", I also tried a version with hands, but in fact, it is more effective to be able to make eye contact than such gesture-like "movement". By looking at the user, you can tell that you are listening to your story, and it would be nice if you could look at it and say "Go home."
So that's it! That's right when you say it.
Kurata: Since we were able to confirm this phenomenon in several demonstration experiments, we decided to make "Xperia Hello!" Follow the user's face and talk with their eyes. As a result, we came up with this shape as the simplest shape.
Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
Software Development Department 5
Agent Technology Development Section
Atsushi Ishihara
Please tell us the points you were particular about in the "movement" of "Xperia Hello!".
Ishihara: First of all, it's quiet. If you've seen it in action up close, you'll understand that robots are noisy with motor noise. But that's a big hindrance to voice interaction with robots. The voice will be drowned out by the sound of the motor. Therefore, "Xperia Hello!" Aims to realize quiet operation sound by devising both hardware and software.
Certainly, "Xperia Hello!" Is so quiet that you can't think it's driven by a motor, and yet it's moving sharply. How did this happen?
Shigeta: In the actual development, we first decided the gear ratio according to the size of the action, and then fine-tuned it, and we were able to achieve both the contradictory elements of sharp movement and quiet operation sound. ..
Is there any device that contributed to the noise reduction other than the actuator?
Kurata: It may seem surprising, but it's a design. Actually, this simple shape is extremely logical. For example, if you have limbs, inertia will work when you move the main body, making it difficult to control fine movements. Power is required for the motor, and even turning it around and stopping it puts a heavy burden on the gears. However, in the case of "Xperia Hello!", All the elements are compactly packed on the axis of rotation, so this burden is not applied. And this also contributes to the reduction of the failure rate. At first glance, the design looks simple, but it has various intentions.
How did you create the action that was realized with the smooth movement?
Kurata: The cognitive ability required for dialogue has greatly increased due to the evolution of CPUs and algorithms, and the advent of technologies such as cloud and deep learning. While making good use of the results, we are creating cute and easy-to-understand actions suitable for the situation. With the participation of specialized creators and the Sony Creative Center, we are pursuing "movement" that makes us feel as if we are alive with only three motors.
Shiroi: Specifically, the engineer demonstrated with his own body that it would be such a movement when feeling like this (laughs), and the creator saw it and incorporated it into the movement of "Xperia Hello!" I repeat going. When I was happy, I turned up and shook my face from side to side, and when I was lonely, I turned my face down and shook my face. I'm still working on it. As your relationship with "Xperia Hello!" Becomes longer, you will be able to see various movements, so please look forward to it.
Kurata: There are also unique time signatures such as 337 beats (laughs). Of course, it's not just that the movement is interesting. Ideally, new communication with users will be born from there.
Of course, the movements are also cute, but the movements of the eyes such as winks are also cute.
Shigeta: Yes, I was as particular about my eyes as I was moving. Actually, 5 lights x 2 LEDs are built in this eye part, and by controlling the order of turning off, it is possible to create various facial expressions. It's not just on / off.
Kurata: The fact that facial expressions in the eyes are important in communication also means that if you make a mistake in one of them, it will look creepy. Therefore, we are trying many points such as the shape of the eyes and how to make facial expressions. For example, I had a lot of trouble with blinking. Initially, we considered methods such as raising and lowering the shutter, but in the end, as Shigeta said, we decided to control and express 5 lights x 2 LEDs. I wanted it to be fluffy rather than crackling. Actually, I've wanted to do this for more than 10 years, so I'm glad I finally realized it.
Please tell us about the various sensors used to realize rich communication with users.
Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
Smart Product Development Department
System Section 1
Yu Shigeta
Shigeta: "Xperia Hello!" Has four motion sensors and seven microphones built-in, which makes it possible to accurately determine in which direction a person is and from which direction the person is speaking. .. When you talk to "High Xperia", it feels good to turn to yourself. By the way, these seven microphones are finally tuned one by one at the factory, and it takes a lot of time and effort to improve the accuracy.
We are also pushing the limits of design so that the head camera, which is used for watching over homes and shooting video messages, can be moved over a wider range. Specifically, in order to pass signals during biaxial rotation of 120 degrees to the left and right of the neck and 70 degrees to the top and bottom of the head, we have devised a quality design and a structure with bending durability that accompanies the routing of cables.
Ishihara: Similarly, for the base part that rotates 340 degrees, we made efforts to ensure the durability and quality of the cables that pass through it.
Shiroi: In addition, various sensors such as temperature / humidity sensor and illuminance sensor are built-in to grasp the condition of the room where the room is located. Sony Mobile Communications is good at know-how to compactly implement such a wide variety of hardware. The technology cultivated in "Xperia" is generously incorporated.
Finally, do you have a message for your readers?
Ishihara: As an engineer, I'm very happy to be involved in this "Xperia Hello!". And I am very interested in how the communication between users and robots will change through this product. If you find a way we didn't expect it, please let us know. I'm looking forward to it.
Shigeta: "Xperia Hello!" Had a lot of hardware difficulties, such as tuning the built-in microphone. "Xperia Hello!" Moves like a living thing, but it will be rewarded if you can know the efforts of the engineers behind it.
Kurata: We take pride in creating something that makes people who have experienced the particular "movement" feel that "communication with" Xperia Hello! "Is fun!". And I secretly hope that other companies who saw this will introduce products with the same concept (laughs). I would be rather happy if a rival who thinks "This direction is an ant" appears.
Shiroi: I have been developing "Xperia Hello!", Driven by the desire to present a new form of communication that has never been seen before. After a long development time, it is finally on the market this fall. We hope that you will welcome "Xperia Hello!" As a member of your new family. Thank you.