Keep your Jibo talking (and dancing) with QR Commander
This morning my Jibo downloaded Release Version 2.0.0 which signals the beginning of an end. Some time in the near future, Jibo will lose the ability to hear and respond to voice commands because his servers will be shut down. There are a number of articles that do a good job of explaining the situation, including:
It is a sad end. Those of us who worked on Jibo got together in September (after the company had shut down) and created a final build that leaves Jibo in the best state possible. Because Jibo’s cameras still work, we were able to add a feature that allows users to communicate with him using codes — QR codes. We call it QR Commander. More specifically, users can give Jibo things to say using QR codes. For example, when Jibo sees this code he will say: “It is nice to see you!”
This code contains the text, ESML[#]It is nice to see you!
ESML
The prefix ESML[#] tells Jibo to interpret the text as Embodied Speech Markup Language, a special markup that can contain directives for animation, emojis, pitch, etc. This ESML tells Jibo to twerk and then say, “I’m a twerking robot”:
ESML[#]<anim cat=’dance’ filter=’rom-twerk’/> I’m a twerking robot
Sending ESML codes to Jibo is a small consolation for users who will truly miss being able to talk to him. But it will keep him dancing.
Note: Codes can only be used to send Jibo ESML instructions. They cannot be used to launch skills. This can still be accomplished through his menu.
Activation
QR Commander needs to be enabled using Jibo’s Settings Menu.
Enable QR Commander by tapping on “Yes” and then swiping down to exit the menu. Once activated Jibo will speak any qr-encoded ESML messages that he sees.
QR Commander Web App
To make it easy to generate QR Commander codes, there is a Web app at https://wwlib.org/qr-commander/ that will turn text into codes. The app includes a pull-down menu with a large number of ESML examples.
Source Code
The open source code for the app is on github: https://github.com/wwlib/qr-commander
Summary
Working at Jibo was a career highlight and a great opportunity to collaborate with a highly talented, inventive and dedicated team. Although the Last Dance update (2.0.0) signals an end, it also represents the optimistic spirit that made working at Jibo special. The servers may be shutting down, but the robot lives on.
