As part of this announcement, Evolution Robotics also introduced the ER2(TM), a multi-purpose personal robot, built entirely using the ERSP, which showcases the extent of the software platform's core capabilities. The ER2 exhibits many of the powerful new breakthrough technologies that Evolution Robotics has spent the last year developing. These include: robotic navigation using vSLAM(TM) (visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), a low cost solution that facilitates the personal robot's reliable navigation in environments such as the home and workplace; robotic vision, a new object recognition system that can be trained to recognize objects using a single, low-cost camera; and human-robot interaction technologies, which can be used to develop rich and engaging interactions between humans and robots. These software modules underpinned the development of a number of key applications for the home or workplace including security, video-conferencing and tele-presence, entertainment, child education, and personal assistance and productivity etc. Evolution Robotics brings this new ER2, as well as its other technologies, to market through developers, retailers and OEM partners.

Evolution Robotics launched the ERSP in February 2002, providing OEMs with the ability and tools to develop a new generation of indispensable personal robot products for the home and workplace. Using Evolution Robotics software technology, OEMs no longer have to build systems from the ground-up and can therefore bring their products to market much faster, with lower development costs and reduced risk. One of Evolution Robotics first customers to license the ERSP is Bandai Co., Ltd of Japan, the third largest toy company in the world, which is using the software technology to accelerate the development of a new personal robot for families in Japan and Asia.

Navigation, vision and robotic interactions are the most important attributes of a fully functional personal robot product. Evolution Robotics spent much of the last year developing its software platform to incorporate these capabilities, which are evident on the ER2 personal robot:

• Robotic Navigation: Evolution Robotics' navigation module with vSLAM(TM) technology interprets visual information, rather than range measurements, and is therefore better suited to decipher cluttered environments like a home or office, where range-based SLAM techniques often fail. Evolution Robotics' vSLAM technique is extremely robust and can accommodate dynamic changes caused by lighting, movement, or people. Also, because this solution uses cameras as input devices, it is a cost-effective navigation solution that can be used in consumer robots.
• Robotic Vision: Evolution Robotics' vision module can be trained to recognize objects using a single, low-cost camera. The technology behind the vision systems is robust and works well in realistic settings such as a home or office where lighting changes, partial occlusions, and changes in perspective are normal occurrences.
• Human-Robot Interaction: Evolution Robotics also provides a variety of component technologies that support a number of interfaces for command and control of a robot and allow the robot to provide feedback about its internal status and external environment. These components enable the robot to interact with a user in a variety of interesting and entertaining ways. Some of these include graphical user interfaces, speech recognition and text-to-speech for verbal interaction, gesture recognition for natural interaction using common gestures, and robot emotions and personality to create interesting and entertaining life-like robot characters.

The ERSP will continue to evolve to provide software modules that can plug and play on any hardware and perform increasingly advanced tasks. Additionally, the ERSP includes sophisticated developer toolkits that introduce efficient ways to program robots. By combing high-level scripting and programming languages, such as Python and C++, and interactive programming tools, OEMs can create compelling robotics-powered products and reduce their time to market.

"We spent much of the past year really honing in on our core competencies and developing key technologies that eliminate the need for high-cost hardware and offer increased value to the manufacturer. Now with the ERSP, OEMs can focus on the product or application, rather than the development of the underlying robotic technologies", commented Bernard Louvat, CEO of Evolution Robotics. "We are very excited to begin working with more OEMs and businesses that recognize the value of robotics functionality and how it will shape the next generation of home appliances, entertainment products, and security devices and improve the productivity of the service sector by automating labor intensive tasks", added Louvat.

About Evolution Robotics

Evolution Robotics(TM), www.evolution.com, develops and licenses state-of-the-art robotics software technologies and applications that assist manufacturers in bringing robotics products to market. The Evolution Robotics Software Platform or ERSP(TM) includes a state-of-the-art robotics software architecture, application development tools and core robotic functionality modules such as object recognition, visual navigation, speech recognition, and human-robot interaction. In January 2003, Evolution Robotics introduced a new multi-purpose personal robot built entirely using the ERSP that demonstrates the extent of the software platform's capabilities. The company also makes its technologies available to the developer community through the ER1(TM), a programmable robot kit that can be purchased on the Evolution Robotics website and at leading technology retailers. Evolution Robotics mission is to accelerate the personal robot industry and help spur the creation of a variety of highly functional personal robot products that will become indispensable in our daily lives, at home and at work.