BOULDER, Colo. – Misty Robotics, developers of the Misty robotics platform, today announced the general availability of its Misty II robot, a professional-grade robot system. By opening the robots to software developers, educators, and researchers, the company said it believes that platform robots are the “missing link” in accelerating the use of robots in businesses, homes, research and education.
Misty said the Misty II robot is available now for $2,899 in a special offer, down from the $3,199 retail price. The company also announced a monthly payment plan offer that lets customers buy Misty now and pay over time.
Misty II solving real problems
“There are more than 23 million developers around the world and they are the key to unlocking the future of robots, previously only available to the world of roboticists,” said Ian Bernstein, the founder and head of product at Misty Robotics. “For the price of a computer, developers can bring their code to life and freeing it from the 2D world of a browser. We’ve already seen some of our crowdfunding backers start to solve real-world problems. The possibilities are really endless, and we are excited to see what they build next.”
Developers can access the Misty II skills through an SDK. Image: Misty Robotics
In September, the company began shipping Misty II to its crowdfunding backers, and said developers are actively building robot applications, aka skills, for use cases that include elder care, inventory data collection, home property inspection, environmental monitoring, autism therapy, and personal engagement.
“When you see your code start to control something physical, you realize what is possible when you bridge the gap between hardware and software,” said Rich Walsh, CEO of SolderWorks, an innovation lab that provides comprehensive hardware and software engineering services. “At SolderWorks, we’re teaching our customers new use cases for robots and building new value propositions for them, such as a receptionist skill. The Misty Command Center makes it easy to quickly iterate and issue commands, which helps us prove and disprove hypotheses to our customers.”
Third-party support
Misty Robotics provides developers with the tools, documentation, and extensive APIs in order for them to create skills on the Misty Platform. Tools include a pre-build Command Center, Skill Runner, and API Explorer, which is accessed through an easy-to-navigate SDK interface. Developers can extend Misty II’s capabilities by integrating with third-party APIs, including those provided by Twilio, Microsoft, and Google. Hardware expansion can be accomplished through third-party systems such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and even 3D printing. Features on the robot include a 3D depth camera, microphone array, several Qualcomm processors, as well as obstacle detection and capacitive touch sensors.
“Companies like Misty Robotics are spearheading the new generation of smart, connected robots – devices that are playing larger and larger roles in people’s lives,” said Dev Singh, director of business development and the head of robotics, drones & intelligent machines at Qualcomm Technologies. “We are happy to enable the exciting Misty II platform with cutting-edge technologies like our heterogeneous computing architecture, advanced image processing, and on-device AI in our power-efficient IoT chipsets, and we look forward to seeing what people will create with the platform.”
