A report earlier this week said that plans for Apple’s first robot product have been accelerating, in the form of a hybrid iPad/HomePod product.
A supply-chain report now says that Foxconn has been commissioned by Apple to make the robot arm and casings for the device …
Apple’s first robot
A report back in April claimed that Apple has a skunkworks team working on a fully-fledged domestic robot product. We noted at the time that this is unlikely to materialize, and will likely be more than a decade away if it ever does.
But Bloomberg earlier this week described a far less ambitious robotics product.
Mark Gurman reports that Apple has a “team of several hundred people” working on a “pricey tabletop home device that combines an iPad-like display with a robotic limb.”
Gurman explains that the product’s display will be able to tilt up and down and spin 360 degrees with an actuator and a “thin robotic arm to move around a large display.”
Foxconn named as a supplier
A Taiwanese report cited by iPhone Addict says that Foxconn is set to make the robot arm and casing for this product.
Hongzhun [part of Foxconn], which is recognized for its expertise in the mass production of robotic components – in particular with Hon Hai’s “FoxBot” robot – would produce the mechanical components and housings of Apple’s future office robot, a robot whose code name would be “J595. This device would have a screen similar to that of the iPad and a robotic arm, thus becoming a central system for Apple’s home automation ecosystem.
Product may be simpler than it sounds
I expressed my own hope that this is a simpler product that it sounds.
What would make sense is the approach Google took with its tablet: A speaker to which the tablet magnetically attaches. In other words, the Magic Keyboard attachment for a speaker.
With the iPad controlling it, the speaker could essentially use the same software that powers Center Stage, but this time pass commands to the speaker dock to rotate or pitch the iPad up or down as required.
My colleague Ryan Christoffel pointed to a Belkin product along these lines.
Basically, if you pair your iPhone with Belkin’s stand, you’ll have a tabletop home device that combines an iPhone display with a robotic swiveling stand. It’s the ‘future,’ available now.
Foxconn already makes a robot forklift truck, which can be seen at work in the promo video below.
Image: Belkin and 9to5Mac
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