This virtual assistant looks like an anime girl trapped in a coffee pot

Gatebox AI is an unusual virtual assistant that involves a projected CGI character kind-of trapped in a jar -- with voice controls! The sales pitch is that this virtual assistant will give the sensation of living with a fictional character, or according to how creator Vinclu Inc. words it, "your heroes". Which is fine, if your hero is a non-spectacular CGI anime character with blue hair and excessively submissive temperament. Behind the virtual idol/slave gloss, Gatebox AI's assistant functions approach a bare-bones Amazon Echo. According to the preorder site, Gatebox's debut character Hikari has the "ultimate healing voice" (uh huh) and the J-Pop AI will adjust to your daily rhythms, welcoming you home or sensing when you get up.