Author Archives: Umer Abdullah

5 Best AI-Powered Companions In 2022

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People seem to be a bit too concerned about AI and its hazards. But they don’t realize how much it is already present in our lives. People were also very concerned when Facebook was shifted to the Metaverse. 

However, AI plays a major role that is largely invisible with various customer service chatbots and other services. AI is in our mobile devices and computers these days. Many people love interacting with AI as it is getting smarter and more advanced. 

If you want a simple and cheap way to get in on the AI action, here are the five most interactive and smart companions that will make your life more convenient than ever. These robots can provide company for long boring days during isolation or working from home.

Best AI-Powered Companions

  1. Vector 2.0 

The Vector 2.0 is the best robot companion with Alexa inbuilt. It comes with advanced robotics that gives it a personality by sight, touch, and sound. 

Void recognition powers it, and it will answer your questions. It can also take photos for you and can time dinner. Moreover, it can also display weather and do much more. Sending voice commands to it is a simple job using inbuilt Alexa. 

It comes with an uprising platform using wifi. Therefore, he is always learning and updating his skills and various features. It comes with a powerful battery. The best part is that it comes with an easily accessible battery that you can replace. 

Furthermore, it has a better camera resolution, thanks to its inbuilt 5 MP camera facial recognition. Therefore, it can recognize pets and even know when you smile. 

  1. Amazon Astro

Amazon Astro is a household robot that monitors your home in your absence. It comes with inbuilt Alexa and comes with a 6-month free-of-cost trial of Ring Protect Pro. With this trial, your assistant can save videos in its cloud storage for up to 60 days and even more with an upgrade.

The robot comes with intelligent motion thanks to its advanced navigation technology. Therefore, it can find its way around the home pretty easily. It can go wherever you want it to go, and you can stay connected even when you are not at home. 

You can conveniently manage it from your phone using the Astro App. You can even customize it with different compatible products. It comes with a detachable cup holder, and it can carry other items such as a Ziploc container, the Omron BP monitor, and Furbo Dog Camera that can toss treats to your pet. But you will need to accessorize the robot separately. 

  1. SunFounder PiSloth

SunFounder PiSloth is an AI programmable root for Raspberry Pi, and it can dance and avoid obstacles. You can also follow an object, provide you with background sound, and use sound effects. So, it is a top choice for kids and adults and is a versatile AI robot. It is a bionic robot and has a solid aluminum alloy structure. 

It can talk, dance, and even express its emotions, such as excitement and happiness. You can program it with 22 different actions, and it can stomp, swing, and moonwalk. It can send and receive ultrasonic signals with sensors as per your needs. You can use these signals to measure distance and proximity detection. 

Its eyes are a pair of send and receive ultrasonic sensors which you can use for obstacles avoidance and distance emergent along with proximity detections. Even beginners can program the proximity kit, and it is pretty easy to use. 

More traditional users can use Python for proximity detection. You can also find a variety of high-quality tutorials available online, and users can acquire the name of different skill sets for robotic programming. 

  1. Mibro Bold Really Rad Robots

This little friend can play, talk and prank with you, and it can turn your boring lonely life into a fun time. It comes with a new gold look and different gold accessories. You can find it and laugh at its jokes or give it different commands. 

It has a mouth that is as sharp as its looks. You can also use it to spy on your friends along with your family. So, you can be sneaky and send in your little spy friend. You can conveniently listen to the secrets from other rooms. 

You can also play tricks on your friends and prank them with this golden little friend. It comes loaded with fifty different functions and various paired sound effects. It is small in size and relatively easy to operate. 

  1. LivingAI EMO

This AI-powered desktop pet is pretty cool with a personality. It has multiple sensors and features cutting-edge technology. The AI robot can explore the world independently, and it can also react with more than a thousand body and face movements. 

It can cheer you up with your favorite music and dance moves. You can play online games with it. Moreover, it can wake you up and turn the light on. 

You can take pictures with the inbuilt HD camera and use its inbuilt voice assistant for commands. 

Since it is equipped with a touch sensor on its head, it can feel your touch like a pet. It can recognize you, and it also knows your name. 

Final Word

AI-powered companions are great for dealing with loneliness and social isolation. Even if you are not dealing with these issues, these AI friends are great to show off your buddies to your family and friends.

AI can be pretty awesome, and it is getting advanced over time. You can program your bots according to your requirements and have as much fun with them as possible. 

*Please note that there is a possibility we make some profit from any sale of one or more of these products. This helps us continue to create great content for our readers.

J DILLA (1974 – 2006) The Life of J Dilla

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James D. Yancey, popularly known as J Dilla or Jay Dee, was an American rapper and record producer. He was born on February 7th, 1974, and passed away on February 10th, 2006. 

James emerged on the underground hip hop scene back in the 1990s in Michigan when he was a member of Slum Village, an underground group. He was also a member of Soulquarians, active in the late 90s and earlier 2000s. 

JDilla died at the young age of 32 from a combination of lupus and TTP. Though his career was short-lived, he is arguably one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time.

According to The Guardians, his ability to craft melodic yet lengthy loops from unique samples while adding sultry vocal samples and one of a kind breakbeats gave hip hop more creative complexity.

J Dilla’s Early Life & Career

James Yancey was from Detroit, and he lived with his family in a house on the northeast corner of McDougall and Nevada and the eastern end of Detroit. 

Both his parents came from music backgrounds. His mother was a former opera singer, and his father was a jazz bassist. He performed Globetrotters halftime shows for many years. From the early days, JDilla developed a love for different music genres, especially hip-hop music. 

He had friendships with Baatin and T3 in his school days due to their mutual love for rap battles. He spent most of the time in the basement alone while working on different beats during his teenage years. 

JDilla met Amp Fiddler in 1992 and introduced JDilla to Akai’s music workstation. From there, he met Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Questand further developed his skills with MC Phat Kat to form 1st Down, the first Detroit hip hop group to sing on any major label, Payday Records. 

In 1995, JDilla also recorded with 5 Elementz, a group with Mudd, Thyme, and Proof. But Slum Village was the first major success that he received. He worked on a range of different remix projects for Janet Jackson, De La Soul, The Pharcyde, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, and Various other projects. 

Performing Career

With Fantastic, Vol. 2, Slum Village became more popular as a hip hop group, and there was a new following for J Dilla and his music creation. He formed another group, The Soulquarians, and gained more recognition. He also developed a critically acclaimed album, Like Water For Chocolate. 

James worked on these solo tracks in 2001 titles Fuck the Police and Welcome 2 Detroit. It was during this time that he started using the moniker “J Dilla ” to differentiate him from Jermaine Dupri, who also went by the name Jay Dee. 

During this time, J Dilla also helped produce for his friend Bilal from the Soulquarians. Bilal credited J Dilla for drum programming. 

J Dilla was then signed for a solo album with MCA Records back in 2002. For that album, he chose to rap instead of producing music. He also recorded Ruff Draft with a German label called Groove Attack. 

The albums were not as successful, but his work was released through independent labels. And it was a new direction for his career a pattern which many younger artists follow today. 

Later Life and Death 

A Los Angeles-based producer, Madlib, formed a group with J Dilla. They released an album called Champion Sound in 2003 and appeared on tour as Jaylib in 2004. During this time, his illness caused him to lose weight. 

Because of his struggles with health, his credits and major releases slowed significantly during 2004 and 2005. His cult following remained strong among his core audience, which was evident with the unauthorized distribution of his beat tapes through internet file sharing. 

At that time, many articles in XXL and URB confirmed that the rumors of his ill health were true. He was in the hospital during this period, but Jay never officially confirmed the reports. In 2005, when he toured Europe, the severity of his health came out in public. There, he performed in a wheelchair. 

It was later revealed that he is suffering from a rare blood disease and lupus. After that, he was mostly hospital-bound. He was in debt when his insurance dropped due to late payment. 

At his death, he had multiple projects planned for future release. T3 mentioned in an interview that J Dilla has more than 150 unreleased beats. And some of them were released in 2015 in the Slum Village album entitled “Yes!”

His album “The Shining” was only 75 percent completed when J Dilla died. Karriem Riggins completed and released it in 2006. His various unreleased beats were made part of various albums and were posthumously released.

Here at the Manly Man, we care about men of culture and we pay tribute to the life of J-Dilla – A one of a kind producer and artist. RIP.