Video: This Teeny Tiny Robot is Powered By an Emotion Engine

Photo via Anki

Cozmo is a companion robot that looks like a cross between Wall-E and a Tonka Truck and fits in the palm of your hand. But this robot proves powerful computing can come in tiny, adorable packages.

"Cozmo is really fully packed with technology that starts with 40 or 50 gears for motors, which allow him to drive, move his arms, move his head," said Hanns Tappeiner, co-founder and president of Anki, the company that developed the robot.

Cozmo also boasts computer vision, which gives him the power of facial recognition. Cozmo learns and evolves the more you play and interact with him. How you interact with him affects his "emotional state" -- he gets sad if you don't play with him for a while and is especially happy when he recognizes a face.

All this is customizable, however. The software development kit will be opened up for developers who aren't robotics experts to program him.

To see Cozmo in action, check out the video below from CNET