Vector is meant to be always on, always listening and always ready to play. Think of it as your new robot pet -- or the closest thing to one of those tiny Star Wars Droids that were always buzzing around the floor. Once you get it connected to a Wi-Fi network with your phone, you won't need any other device to use it. You could just sit back and watch as it explores its immediate environment, like Cozmo. But since it's autonomous and cloud connected, you can also treat it like a virtual assistant by shouting "Hey Vector" and issuing a command, like "What's the weather in Seattle?"

At launch, Vector can do things you'd typically use Alexa or Siri for, like setting a timer, or asking general questions. But like its younger sibling, it can also memorize your face with its camera and learn your name when you say it aloud. That lets it say hello to you properly when you come home after a long day, without any prompting. It'll probably be a while before we see something like that with Amazon's Echo.

During my brief demo, Vector learned my name after I said it once, which was impressive enough on its own. In comparison, you have to type out your name for its younger sibling to understand it. After I told Vector who I was, it bopped around the coffee table where its charger was sitting, returned to me, made a face like a toddler trying to concentrate real hard, and said my name aloud. I know it's just computer vision and algorithms that lets it do that, but that tiny moment was enough for me to feel a connection with Vector.