Baidu Raven Explained

Raven is a brand of smart speakers, developed by Chinese web services company Baidu. The devices connect to the voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant service DuerOS.^[1] The products are a result of Baidu's acquisition of Raven Tech in February 2017.^[2] The Raven H went on sale in December 2017, the first of three planned products under the brand.

Products

Raven H

The Raven H is a smart speaker consisting of eight metal plates.^[3] The top detachable orange metal plate is capable of rising up and down, as well as a LED display touch controller.^[4] DuerOS is capable of voice interaction, music playback, providing weather, and hailing a vehicle from Didi Chuxing on the device.^[5] It was first introduced in November 2017 at the annual Baidu World conference in Beijing.^[6] On-board, the device has a Tymphany speaker. In China, the device became available in December 2017 for RMB 1,699.^[7]

Raven R

The Raven R is a planned smart speaker with six moveable joints, used to perform simple function and express emotions on an LED display.^[8]

Raven Q

The Raven Q is a planned home robot that will be able to move around a house, in addition to acting as a virtual assistant.^[9]

Notes and References

1. News: How Baidu Will Win China's AI Race—and, Maybe, the World's. Hempel. Jessi. 9 August 2017. Backchannel. 21 November 2017. Condé Nast.
2. News: Baidu unveils home robots and smart speaker. Johnson. Khari. 15 November 2017. VentureBeat. 21 November 2017.
3. News: The newest smart home assistant stands out for one reason. Horwitz. Josh. 16 November 2017. Quartz. 6 March 2018.
4. News: Baidu Jumps Into Crowded Smart Speaker Fray With Raven H. 16 November 2017. Bloomberg News. 21 November 2017.
5. News: China's Baidu just announced the strangest smart speakers. Russell. Jon. 16 November 2017. TechCrunch. 21 November 2017. Oath Inc..
6. News: Baidu Sends Raven to Bring Artificial Intelligence Into Chinese Homes. Abkowitz. Alyssa. 16 November 2017. The Wall Street Journal. 21 November 2017. subscription.
7. Baidu Unveils Raven Series AI-powered Hardware at 2017 Baidu World. 15 November 2017. 21 November 2017.
8. News: Baidu rolls out the Raven H, its first AI smart speaker. Ho. Victoria. 16 November 2017. Mashable. 21 November 2017.
9. News: Chinese tech giant Baidu launched a smart speaker and robots that will give people a 'sci-fi' experience. Shead. Sam. 16 November 2017. Business Insider. 21 November 2017.