The most intriguing of Sony's four new connected devices at MWC 2016 is also at its earliest stage in development. The Xperia Agent, a Dreamworks-style robot measuring just over one foot tall, is Sony's idea of how a smart, Internet and smartphone-connected personal assistant might work. The "Concept" qualifier means this thing's nowhere near ready for commercial release yet — if it ever sees the light of day.
Nevertheless, we've had the chance to try out the Xperia Agent Concept in Barcelona, and you'll find our first-look video down below.
The Xperia Agent will be voice- and gesture-controlled, with a built-in projector for displaying information on a nearby surface. It'll be able to connect to your smartphone and social accounts, and use voice interactions to respond to these, as well as piping calls through its speaker systems. Sony also hinted at Google Now-like features being employed such as timely calendar and weather alerts. What's more, the company is exploring the possibility of bringing home automation to the Agent, which for the time being is entirely stationary.
The scope of the product isn't fully set just yet, Sony says, so its feature set and interaction methods may change before it turns into a retail product. Nevertheless, it's an interesting take on the Amazon Alexa-like voice assistant concept, and Sony's cutesy bot certainly has plenty of potential.
Tempted by the Sony Xperia Agent? Hit the comments and let us know if you'd buy one!
