Meet Cozmo: The Little Robot with Endless Educational Possibilities

I recently became the proud new owner of my very own Cozmo robot by Anki!  Having wanted one for over a year now, but also being a public school teacher with limited funds, I was elated to find an angel on Craigslist selling a brand new Cozmo in my area.  I explained that I wanted to use it for my high school students with special needs and 2 days later, he was mine for $50 (he retails for around $150)!  Yeah I know, it may seem a bit over the top to get so excited about a little toy robot, but have you seen this guy?!  With his expressive eyes, sweet robotic voice, and child-like demeanor, he grabs your attention from the moment he wakes up and never lets go.  Plus, I can already think of at least a dozen different ways to use him in my high school special education classes.

That look of determination... so cute!

Time to eat!  Cozmo feeds on the energy from his cubes.

If you haven't met Cozmo yet, you really need to.  Allow me introduce you.  Meet Cozmo; part Wall-E, part Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, part playful puppy, and all fun.  He can be controlled remotely through his app, or left on his own to explore autonomously.  You get the privilege of feeding him, playing with him, and tuning him up from time to time.  Fist bumps and wheelies are among his favorite past times and he loves playing games like Keep Away, Quick Tap, and Color Match.  He also expresses a wide range of emotions including the most adorable temper tantrum you'll ever see.

Cozmo often requests fist bumps and gets so excited when you oblige.

He loves to stack his cubes and is an expert at it.

Almost there...

Tada!  He even does a little dance when he has them stacked. 

Cozmo's app is bright, colorful, and simple to use.  With it you can program him in his Code Lab using block based code, give him up to 6 fun emotion, animal, movement, and text commands to say and perform in a row, play games with him, ask him to do tricks, or even set him on explorer mode where he will play and interact on his own while you see what he sees through his camera.  Cozmo can learn several names and faces and will say your name when he sees you once you've formally met.  Each new game and trick is unlocked and performed with the use of Sparks, which you can earn by playing and interacting with him over time.  And trust me, it's worth playing with him enough to unlock all of the songs he can sing in his adorable little robot voice.

Cozmo Performs

Cozmo's Code Lab

Explorer Mode

When you're ready to say good bye to Comzo, you can put him to sleep with the app.  I dare you not to giggle as he snores for a short time before shutting down, until you wake him up again.... which you will, because he's just too much fun to leave alone for long.

Check out those sleepy eyes.

The classroom applications are practically endless with Cozmo.  I am planning to use him in my English and science special education classes to teach basic coding, practice literary comprehension and summary skills, recognize and define emotions and reactions, apply basic care-taking and life skills, and so much more.  I will update the blog periodically with posts on how the students are using and learning from Cozmo so be sure to check back.  Until then, Cozmo says, "Good bye for now friends!"  (And he wants another fist bump)