Finally, A Robot That Will Talk To Your Children So You Don’t Have To When You Are Tired

Finally, A Robot That Will Talk To Your Children So You Don’t Have To

NICHOLAS CARLSON AUG. 21, 2013, 8:50 AM 3,856 17

You work really hard all day, so when you’re finally back at home, all you want to do is kick back with your iPad and play with some apps. A little Candy Crush and scotch to ease the pain, am I right? But no. First some 8-year-old wants you to talk to them. Then some 3-year-old is trying to give you a hug. Ugh. Fortunately, for you, modern parent, there’s a new Silicon Valley startup called WittyWorX. WittyWorX makes a green robot owl called “IXI-Play” that is programmed with a “rich set of sensors and expression capabilities to support the playful interaction” with your children. “With its lifelike body movement and posture, animated eyes and sounds, IXI-Play is very well suited to express its emotions during game play. Children recognize and enjoy this interaction, making IXI-Play feel like a real buddy for playful interaction.” Translation: make sure there’s water in your ice cube trays and your iPad Mini is charged, because you’ve finally got some quality time ahead of you in your evenings, modern mom or dad. WittyWorX showed off IXI-Play yesterday, at a very important conference for startups in Silicon Valley called YCombinator Demo Day. All the top venture capitalists attend the event to see what kind of life-improving innovations are coming next. IXI-Play was a favorite. Here are some of IXI-Play’s expressions. Note the one in the second row from the top, second column to the left. This robot will handle the tough love for you. Here’s a video demonstration of IXI-Play.  When the dad sits in the easy chair at 41 seconds in, remember to imagine that’s you.

How Roberta Benteler went from wanting a job in fashion to owning an online retailer to challenge Net a Porter

How Roberta Benteler went from wanting a job in fashion to owning an online retailer

Roberta Benteler runs Avenue 32, an online retailer to challenge Net a Porter. She talks to Emma Sinclair about how she grew her business from scratch, her biggest inspiration and whether the fashion world really is like The Devil Wears Prada.

Roberta Benteler founded Avenue 32 to challenge the likes of Net a Porter

By Emma Sinclair

1:30PM BST 19 Aug 2013

In April 2011, Roberta Benteler founded Avenue 32, an online retailer to challenge the likes of Net a Porter. The site has already made its mark: its largest single order to date is an unbelievable £51,000 (I’d love to know who that client was!). If Net a Porter is something of a department store, Avenue 32 is more a series of independent boutiques all under one roof with well-known designers on their pages. A firm advocate of new and young brands, it provides an online platform for young designers who otherwise might not have much of a presence on the internet. Additionally, the site looks after distribution, logistics and photography; often the most challenging elements of an online business for young designers. Read more of this post