Jordan O'BrienAlexa has quite simply been the dominant force at CES 2017 but that hasn’t stopped a few companies from attempting to copy Amazon’s award-winning formula. One such company is Baidu, the number one search engine in China, which has debuted a rather odd-looking AI in Las Vegas.
Dubbed the Baidu Fishhome, this is a little different to most other Amazon Echo copycats. That’s because it features a fully fledged touchscreen for interacting with it, alongside a webcam so Fishhome can recognise who it is talking to and tailor-make answers to that person.
There have already been several Amazon Echo copycats from the Middle Kingdom, but Baidu has the funds and the talent to keep up with global players such as Google and Amazon. That should mean its AI is a little more functional than perhaps other copycats, such as the LingLong DingDong, may be. Baidu has already stated that its AI is a little more conversational than Alexa, although it didn’t mention Google’s own conversational Assistant.
Utilising the large screen that adorns the device, the Baidu Fishhome is capable of more than just answering random questions and playing music. Users will be able to make video calls, view additional information about the questions asked and even watch videos without beaming it to an additional screen.
Unfortunately there’s no word on pricing or release date, although don’t expect it to leave China anytime soon.