A Mechanical Hand Around the House

Cye-sr robot from Probotics responds to commands by a clap of your hands or
click of your mouse. 

by Alexandra Krasne, PC World 
November 2, 1999, 11:20 a.m. PT 


Sitting comfortably in your living room, watching your favorite TV show, you
suddenly crave a frosty beverage. Instead of getting up and going to the
fridge, you clap your hands three times and a robot emerges and rolls toward
you, carrying your drink.  

No longer the stuff of futuristic Hollywood fantasy, you can buy your own,
personal Cye-sr robot for $845 from Probotics.  

In yellow, orange, and black with neon green, the nine-pound Cye (for short)
speeds along on thick rubber wheels at three feet per second, according to
Probotics. And, up to 30 pounds worth of stuff can fit into its optional
wagon attachment, which costs $89.  

To control the 16-by-10-by-5-inch robot, you clap your hands. Clap once and
Cye beeps, letting you know that it's ready to go. Clap twice or three times
and you'll send Cye to a specific destination. All you need to do is program
your robot to respond to a number of claps you designate, says Henry Thorne,
inventor and founder.  

"My robot lives in a home base in my guest room," says Thorne. "If I want it
to go to my kitchen, I clap twice, then I send it into the TV room to give my
kids dinner. Then when they're done, they clap three times to send the empty
plates back." 

Before Cye proves a useful assistant, it needs to learn the layout of your
home. To do this, the robot is linked to your PC via wireless communications,
and maps out its route through your home or office by bumping into things
along its way. Then, once it's learned, you can send it on errands.  

The first model of Cye, introduced in May, did not respond to clapping hands.
But both models support the navigation software. Using your PC, Cye and the
Map-N-Zap software, you see an aerial view of your home or office.  

Then, move Cye using PC commands. To do this, you simply click and drag the
robot icon, and the robot will respond to your command, Thorne says.  

Don't like to vacuum? Not a problem. Use your PC to map out a vacuuming route
and attach Cye-sr to a cordless vacuum, which you can buy separately for
$129, or buy the whole package for $995, complete with robot, vacuum and
wagon.  

Now, a hand around the house is just a click or clap away.  

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