It could finally be the home robot you've dreamed - capable of keeping the kids quiet and doing the shopping. The Asus Zenbo, a $599 home robot the firm hopes will help bring robotics into the home, has passed its FCC certification, according to The Leaker. The robot, first unveiled last year, sprang to fame for a cringeworthy cover of Mariah Carey's'All I Want For Christmas Is You' in a festive, and somewhat terrifying, spectacle by the firm. Asus chairman Jonney Shih pledged the firm will'enable robotic computing for every household.' The robot was unveiled at Computex 2016 alongside a new range of mobile phones. Chairman Jonney Shih pledged the firm will'enable robotic computing for every household.'

A chess-playing robot stole the show as Asia's largest tech fair kicked off in Taiwan with artificial intelligence center stage. The annual Computex trade show in Taipei comes as Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen seeks to boost the island's economy with her'Asian Silicon Valley' project, nurturing startups and attracting investments from major international companies. The full-sized robot was one of the many gadgets that impressed visitors this week, along with a VR backpack that lets the user move around and a new VR headset. A chess-playing robot (pictured) stole the show as Asia's largest tech fair kicked off in Taiwan with artificial intelligence center stage Chess playing robot uses an intelligent vision system to interpret the visual world, act on visual information and learn from experience. The robot was able to play chess with attendees and fill coffee at various fill levels while the coffee cup is at random locations. Hong Kong firm Zotac displayed its VR backpack that lets the user move around without fear of tripping over connecting wires while playing a video game.

We're pretty much half way through the year, which means it's Computex time. As usual, you'll find a handful of us running around the Taipei show floors next week, where we'll be getting our hands dirty with the latest PC products and components. Last year was relatively fruitful thanks to the VR explosion. Several PC brands rolled out high-end GPUs or affordable ones capable of running VR. Even Intel surprised its hardcore users with its first-ever 10-core desktop CPU.

It goes without saying that ASUS' first home robot, Zenbo, stole the show at this year's Computex. As soon as it rolled onto the stage during the keynote, everyone rushed to the front to get a good look at this cute little fella -- and that was before Chairman Jonney Shih shocked the audience with its surprisingly attractive low price of $599. Apart from its basic capabilities, little else was said about the machine, so we traveled all the way to ASUS' headquarters to meet Shih for a detailed demo. During the process, we managed to pry a little more info out of the exec, including what's inside this mysterious bot, the thinking behind its design and a target launch date around the holiday season. For a robot that's about a meter tall and can move its head, wheel around, recognize people and objects, and engage in voice interaction, $599 is almost too cheap.

It could finally be the home robot you've dreamed - capable of keeping the kids quiet and doing the shopping. Asus today revealed a Zenbo, a $599 home robot it hopes will help bring robotics into the home. Chairman Jonney Shih pledged the firm will'enable robotic computing for every household.' Asus chairman Jonney Shih pledged the firm will'enable robotic computing for every household.' The robot was unveiled at Computex 2016 alongside a new range of mobile phones.

ASUS put a choir of 10 Zenbo robots together for gadget's official launch The bots sang and danced to Mariah Carey's'All I Want For Christmas Is You' Pre-orders start Jan. 1 and units will cost between $620 and $780 ASUS put a choir of 10 Zenbo robots together for gadget's official launch The bots sang and danced to Mariah Carey's'All I Want For Christmas Is You' Pre-orders start Jan. 1 and units will cost between $620 and $780 A Chinese firm launched its new robot in a way that is sure to spread some holiday cheer. Ten Zenbos took the stage in Taiwan and wowed the audience by signing Mariah Carey's'All I Want For Christmas Is You' in a festive, and somewhat terrifying, spectacle The incredible eight storey vending machine that dispenses... Is your child lying to you about still believing in Santa?... Apple's iPhone 8 may have wireless charging that works up to... Check your Groupon account now! Hacks could mean millions of... The incredible eight storey vending machine that dispenses... Is your child lying to you about still believing in Santa?... Apple's iPhone 8 may have wireless charging that works up to... Check your Groupon account now! Hacks could mean millions of...

ASUS held an event in Taiwan today announcing the availability of its Zenbo robot. From January 1st, customers in the country will be able to pick up one for between $620 and $780, depending on configuration. Engadget Chinese editor-in-chief Richard Lai wrote many words in his dispatch from the launch, including some that detail new features coming to Zenbo. You should read those if you want to know more about it, but I have more important things on my mind. At the robot's launch event in Taiwan, Asus decided it was apt to ring in the holiday season by getting a choir of Zenbos to perform Mariah Carey's Christmas classic, "All I Want For Christmas Is You."

At Computex, ASUS captured the hearts of many with its cute home robot, Zenbo, with Chairman Jonney Shih hinting at a retail launch before end of this year. At today's local launch event, the company announced that its Intel-powered bot will be up for grabs in Taiwan on January 1st, albeit in a limited quantity for the first batch. Price-wise it starts from NT$19,900 or about US$620 -- just a tad more than the intended $599 price point -- for the 32GB standard package, and then there's a 128GB model plus self-charging dock for NT$24,900 or about US$780. But the biggest news today is perhaps ASUS' collaboration with Taiwan's National Police Agency, in order to enable emergency video calls with the police via Zenbo. Details are vague at the moment, but we did see a live demo in which a demonstrator pinged the actual call center (which is probably why they only did the demo once).

As Amazon's Alexa voice assistant becomes smarter each day, it's also showing up in more form factors, with the latest being a small home robot courtesy of, well, a smartwatch brand. Omate's Yumi is, in many ways, a mini version of the ASUS Zenbo: Its head features a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, it runs on wheels, it's powered by Android and it even shares a similar appearance in white. Much like Omate's Rise 3G smartwatch, the Yumi supports Alexa out of the box, so it's effectively an Echo Dot with wheels plus a cute face -- look closer and you'll see the same smile in Amazon's logo. When you do get bored of that look, just pick another face. With a starting price of $349, the 11.7-inch tall Yumi is bound to miss out on some of the bells and whistles found on the $599 Zenbo. For one, Yumi lacks object avoidance and drop avoidance sensors, so you'll have to be careful when it's placed on the table or countertop.

Smart home dream has already become a reality for many average Americans. According to one survey, 28 percent of U.S. adults and 47 percent of millennials have smart home products in their home. Of those who already have home automation gadgets, 81 percent are likely to purchase a home with smart technology already installed. Now, with public interest gaining momentum, smart home technology is poised to go far beyond smart sensors and individual gadgets. The future of the connected home is quickly becoming all about seamless integration, convenience, sustainability, and automation that can interact with personal health and living preferences to improve our lives.