With Alexa, Siri, and other virtual assistants now a regular part of our lives, we guess it’s high time we stop merely talking to robots and start living with them. Yes, I’d like mine to look like R2-D2, too. Since licensing that darn thing probably won’t make that feasible, we guess we don’t mind having Mayfield Robotics’ Kuri around instead.
A personal home robot, it’s designed for mobile function around the house, so it can follow the different occupants around while engaging in animated interactions. It’s highly intelligent, too, with the ability to understand context and surroundings, as well as recognize individual people, so it can connect with people in different ways, depending on who it’s talking to.
Kuri comes with a spherical head that can move in different direction, with animated eyes that allow it to show a variety of facial expressions. A built-in 1080p camera allows it to see people and surroundings, as well as stream a live feed of everything it encounters to a companion app, so you can use it to check in on the house at any time of the day. It uses a four-microphone array to ensure it easily picks up commands and conversations, while dual speakers allow it to audibly respond, play music, and even read the kids a bedtime story.
Like robo-vacuums, it comes with sensors that allow it to map the surroundings, so it can safely make its way around the house every time. Features include built-in LEDs on the chest area for expressing emotional states, capacitive touch sensors on the head that allow you to pet it like a dog, dual wheels for mobility, IFTTT support, and a charging pad where the robot automatically docks when it’s low on power.
Now available for preorder, Kuri is priced at $699.