Kogo review: This AI-powered bot is a companion that weaves your travelogue

Kogo is an artificial intelligence-powered travelogue bot that goes on a journey with you and returns with a neatly knit photo and video story of your journey, ready to go on social media

'Every move you make

Every step you take

I'll be watching you'

This part from the 'Every breath you take' by The Police aptly describe the Kogo, an artificial intelligence-powered travelogue bot that goes on a journey with you but returns with a neatly knit photo and video story of your journey, ready to go on social media.

The Kogo bot is a GPS-enabled device that uses AI to create a story for you. It has multiple sensors with which it precisely maps your journey. The device works in tandem with the KogoApp that keep all the information that the bot captures.

Geared towards bikers, solo and group travellers, etc. It is a tiny rectangular device, weighs about 500-600 gm, and has a strong magnet at the rear with which it sticks to your vehicle or any magnetic surface. It sticks to the surface so strongly that you would have to pull it hard to remove it from there. I used it on my bike and didn't have to worry about the device falling anywhere. You can also keep in your bag or pocket.

 

Kogo is useful for those who hit the road often and needs to know about the routes, places they can stop, and other information. You can also see the movement of fellow travellers or other people through the Kogo app.

The Kogo app offers a space for discussion to travellers. It compiles your pictures, lets you edit descriptions and other details, adds the stop points, and turn it all into a story. People on the Kogo app can see your story in real time also and comment on it for details or otherwise.

With a 6000mAh battery, it lasts for up to 10 days on a single charge and also works in offline mode (no network zones), storing up to 20 days of data.

 

The KogoBOT includes firmware, sensors, and sim card and has a dedicated GPS and multiple sensors to map out travel journey. The KogoAPP takes the data captured by the device and keeps adding to the story in the background with the help of AI. It is Weatherproof & Shockproof (IP67 rated) as well.

 

I took Kogo with twice for long trips to get familiar with the device. It all looked pretty simple the first time I used it. You just activate the bot, put your destination on the app and start the trip. It keeps working in the background without much notifications or alerts.

The accuracy and the precision of the GPS is good enough even in areas where network is weak. It automatically syncs the data with the app as soon as there is some network. It tell you about daily summary, including the places you stop for breaks.

I took a trip from Delhi to Chakrata and finally settled to add pictures and videos to the otherwise well-weaved story in the app, I realised that it's not all that simple. The amount of data the device picks precisely is remarkable but the Kogo App is quite limited, and that's what spoils the experience.

You can only pick 5 files (photos and videos) for a day, there are only a few editing options, the processing of an entire story takes too long, and the final story may not be too pleasing either.

My second trip was a bike ride from Delhi to Almora and then to the nearby areas. While making a new story on Kogo with pictures and videos, I had to give up as the time it was taking ended all my excitement.

 

What's really good is the names of places it records, which you otherwise don't remember, the location accuracy, and a few other details that you usually overlook. Although Kogo is pushing for updates to make it better, it's still not at par with the times, considering how people utilise Instagram and other apps to create an eye-catching story within minutes.

Priced at Rs 7,749, Kogo could be a key companion for someone who is a keen traveller and wants to gather all the information that may come handy in popular travel hotspots to not so travel-friendly places. It can be a good help if you ever get stuck anywhere, you can put it on your group or community and someone using the device may help you out.

Kogo would have to make the app less time-consuming to add all the pictures and videos and weave it into a story, at the same time, a lot more editing options would be needed to make stories look impressive.