Case maker In-Win always goes big at Computex. In 2015 its showpiece case was the H-Tower, a a gigantic transforming metal case with components splayed out on a number of arms that could retract into an (almost) unassuming tower. Computers… in disguise. This year's supercase makes no attempt to hide its identity, though. It's a straight up robot.
Meet the Winbot. Tagline: "Even smarter than you thought!" The Winbot's spherical housing reminds me of an astronaut's helmet, or the Haro robot from Mobile Suit Gundam. The Winbot's a bit bigger than Haro, though, since it's not a sci-fi robot, but rather a case big enough to hold an E-ATX custom PC build.
There's space in the Winbot for a full-size graphics card and up to a 360mm radiator. But the big draw, of course, is its robotic flourishes. In Win's feature sheet promises advanced facial detection, an intelligent voice operating system, and "a new way to perfect selfies." You can tell the Winbot to snap a photo with a connection to an Amazon Echo. And you can watch it follow some basic hand movements in this quick video I took.
Sadly, the Winbot wasn't ready to snap selfies yet this morning. I get it: takes me awhile to really get moving in the morning, too. Also, I'd like to point out that it's not a selfie if someone else takes it for you. It's just a photograph. Then again, since it's not alive I guess you could consider the Winbot the world's smartest, most expensive selfie stick, and I'm not ready to get into the philosophical quandaries of are selfie bots people.
As usual, In-Win's concept case may not end up being a real product, but if it proves popular enough a few specially built selfie bots could wind up gracing future office lobbies or convention floors. The Winbot's still more PC case than robot, but it sure makes for a hell of a showpiece.
