BUDDY beats funding target by 400% and extends campaign

BUDDY, the world’s first affordable companion robot, has raised $400,000, four times its original goal, on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.

BUDDY and its creators, Blue Frog Robotics, reached a crowdfunding milestone by beating their original funding target by 400 per cent to raise $400,000. The 35-day campaign will now be extended for another 25 days to give more people the opportunity to adopt their own BUDDY.

The creators behind the first affordable robot companion, will now embark on a tour across the United States to meet press, fans and investors. BUDDY will be in Boston, MA from 17th until 19th August, and in San Francisco, CA from 19th until 21st August.

BUDDY robot is the worlds first social robot which interacts, protects and connects with each member of your family. You can purchase your very own robot for roughly £415, and can remind you of important tasks, entertain your kids, patrols your home whilst you are sleeping and also allows you to communicate with loved ones.

The technology behind BUDDY works by using voice and face recognition to identify individual members of your family, as well as real time house mapping and navigation so it can wander around your home.

The production of these robots began in 2012, and since then there have been two prototypes to help develop the BUDDY which is available from December this year.

Now, BUDDY weighs just over 5 kilograms and is 22 inches tall. The inspiration behind the robot lately stemmed from the Star Wars character R2D2.

The team behind BUDDY worked hard to finally produce an affordable social robot, and Rodolphe Hasselvander, creator of BUDDY, is thankful for the support his team received from the funding.

“We are incredibly overwhelmed and thankful for the love and support BUDDY has received over the past 35 days. The reaction from people is beyond even my wildest of expectations. Extending the campaign is a challenge for us, but it means that everyone who wants to adopt BUDDY can.”