Listnr Personal Assistant Always Keeps An Ear Out

Yesterday we saw the Personal Robot, a personal assistant robot with artificial intelligence and the ability to wheel itself around your home or office. If the idea of having a personal assistant of this type strikes your fancy, only you're not too keen on having a deep learning and mobile robot wheeling around while you sleep, there's the Listnr instead. Listnr is an electronic ear that is always listening to its surroundings and taking actions based on what it hears.

Listnr does a few different things, all of them revolving around listening to surroundings. There are things like turning on smart light bulbs by snapping your fingers or tapping your foot, for example. The unit can also understand baby noises, translating what it hears into emotions — colors are used to indicate the emotions behind whatever it hears.

WiFi is used to deliver notifications to smartphones, and there is an LED lamp for tying certain colors to specific sounds. The device is able to record what it hears, and will do so when triggered by exceeding a specific volume. The device is only compatible with iOS 8, however; Android support is a stretch goal.

Listnr's creator and the team behind the device are looking to raise $50,000 USD on Kickstarter where they have thus far raised about $18,200 USD with a month and a half remaining. You can get an early bird unit in the original color by pledging at least $99 USD. Shipping is set for August.

SOURCE: Kickstarter