Jibo's Indiegogo Campaign Blasts Through $1 Million Mark — Cracks the Top 10 Indiegogo U.S. Tech Programs of All Time

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwired – Jul 22, 2014) – Jibo, Inc. announces that its Indiegogo campaign for the world’s first family robot has surpassed the $1 million dollar milestone just six days into its 30-day campaign. Jibo is the most funded campaign currently active on Indiegogo and now ranks as the 17^th most funded Indiegogo campaign of all time, across all categories — with more than three weeks remaining in the campaign. Designed for the home as a friendly companion and one of the family, Jibo is a breakthrough consumer technology that brings content to life with voice, sound, movement, visuals and touch capability.

“We knew Jibo was a powerful concept and it seems consumers agree that the time has come for a friendly robot in the home,” said Jibo founder & CEO, Dr. Cynthia Breazeal. “If Jibo hits the $2 million mark, we will release something truly exciting at no additional charge.”

Explore Jibo, the world’s first family robot, and see the product that after less than a week has inspired contributions from more than 2,200 people, at: http://www.myjibo.com.

How Jibo Works:
Jibo defines a bold, new way to interact with, coordinate with, and nurture those that matter most in your daily life. Jibo brings technology to life with personal and emotive engagement. Unlike the gadgets and other tech in your home now, Jibo fits in more like one of the family. As soon as you bring Jibo home, he will start to learn about you. He will recognize the different voices and faces in your family and as he interacts with you. Jibo’s personality and intelligence will come to life through various skills that provide companionship and help you to coordinate and manage daily activities as well as stay close to those you love even when you’re apart. Initially, Jibo will be able to perform these roles:

1. Photographer: Jibo is your on-demand cameraman. Using natural cues like movement, speech commands, and face and smile detection to know when someone’s posing for a picture, he’ll automatically capture your most precious moments on photo or video so you can stay part of the action.
2. Minder and Messenger: Jibo is a hands-free helper with a personal touch. You can ask Jibo, directly or via the Jibo Link app (on iOS and Android), to take voice messages or remind you of things you need to do. Since he recognizes you and each member of your household, and can interact with natural social cues, Jibo can deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time. Jibo brings all of this to you in a fun, natural and polite way that saves you from yet another beeping device and allows you to stay engaged in what you’re doing. You can also add Jiboticons to your messages and reminders that Jibo will perform with entertaining animations and movement to bring them to life.
3. Storyteller: Jibo is a theatrical performer and interactive storyteller just for you. As Jibo tells stories, he can look at you and respond using sound effects, graphics and physical movements to keep you engaged and delighted — all while supporting playful learning for kids.
4. Communication Avatar: Jibo turns phone calls and video chat into active participation. His see-and-track camera makes it easy for you turn and look at people. His physical expressiveness allows you to show what you are feeling in a new way. With Jibo’s emotive telepresence abilities, you feel more like you are actually there, emotionally present, and able to participate even when you can’t be there in person.
5. Delightful Companion: It’s not just what Jibo helps you with, it’s how he does it. Jibo has a physical presence like an attentive companion. With helpfulness and heart, Jibo will put a smile on your face and make your life better.

Jibo isn’t just a device or another single-use robot — standing at approximately 11 inches tall weighing in at 6 pounds, Jibo brings expression and playfulness to everything he does. He stays connected using Wi-Fi so you can worry less and enjoy life more. Jibo is part of the family — your capable, trusted helper. Jibo Inc. will create the initial core skills and the JiboAlive SDK program, an open developer platform, will let third-party developers create and bring to life new skills, content, and services, all with the goal of providing meaningful and an ever-expanding ways for Jibo to engage with people. Eventually, Jibo will also interface to devices in your house to humanize the connected home of the future.

About Jibo, Inc.
Jibo is the world’s first family robot, bringing intelligence and helpfulness with heart to the connected home. Founded in 2012 by Cynthia Breazeal, a pioneer of social robotics and human robot interaction from the MIT Media Lab, Jibo Inc. takes technology from user-friendly to genuinely friendly. Jibo is fun, attentive to your needs and good for the whole family. Built as an open platform, Jibo can ultimately be whatever you want it to be — from a personal assistant or tutor to a health coach and attentive companion — Jibo has your back. Get to know your Jibo today at www.myjibo.com or say hi on Twitter @jiborobot or www.facebook.com/jiborobot.