Kuri – The Cutest Robot for your Home
Californian start-up Mayfield Robotics unveiled an intelligent personal buddy called Kuri at the CES 2017 trade show in Las Vegas. We have Amazon Echo and Google Home as our primary home robots that play music on our command, answer our questions and turn smart applications on and off. But Kuri differs from these robots because Mayfield focused on the personality during the design process, which comes through in Kuri’s expressive eyes and demeanor.
A Minimalist, Robot Design
Kuri was designed in a way to bring a totally new spark of life & personality to your home. It is 20-inches tall and 14 pounds, so it won’t be very easy to lug it to different floors. Kuri cruises around your home effortlessly, smartly avoiding obstacles. Kuri quickly learns your home’s floor plan, where stairs are, and which room belongs to whom. Kuri can even recognize faces and monitor your home when you’re not there. A built-in microphone and sound-detection technology make Kuri an excellent listener. She will recognize your voice and respond to your commands.
Exploring Kuri Home Robot
- Capacitive Touch Sensors: Capacitive touch sensors in Kuri respond to human touch in a truly personal way. A gentle tap to the head will make Kuri look up at you and chirp affirmingly.
- Live Streaming Capabilities: Kuri has live stream capabilities which mean it will record stuff around the house when you are not there.
- Gestural Mechanics: The gestural mechanics on Kuri are intricate. Kuri’s head and eye movements look fluid and natural. Kuri’s eyes can blink, smile and can look up and down and from side to side.
- Microphones: This robot has 4 sensitive microphones that help in locating sounds. Kuri can react to your voice, or detect unusual sounds and to know which way to go to investigate.
- Heart Light: A soft, warm heart light in Kuri helps in conveying a sense of mood. Different colors represent different emotional states.
- Mapping Sensors: Mapping Sensors in this home robot helps it navigate your house anonymously. A sensor array helps Kuri learn and remember where everything is located. These sensors also help Kuri stay away from cliffs and obstacles in his path.
- Drive System: Kuri has a set of small, but powerful electric motors that help it move effortlessly around your home. The wheels on the motors are big enough to handle a wide range of flooring and carpets.
- Processor: It has powerful processors that handle everything from facial and speech recognition to mapping and entertaining.
- Charging Pad: Kuri comes with a charging pad. The charging pad becomes Kuri’s own little spot in your house. It’s where Kuri automatically goes for a power nap between activities and tasks, or when it’s low on energy.
- Robot Language: It speaks robot and only robot. It’s a purposeful language of friendly chirps and beeps that are fun to learn. The more you interact with him, the more you will understand.
- Sending Alerts: It can detect unusually loud noises and even send an alert to your phone if anything is amiss.
Camera and Speakers
Kuri’s eyes aren’t just adorable, they’re equipped with a camera that can capture photos and video. The camera allows users to check on the house when away, as well as four microphones for voice commands, dual speakers for music playback, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Kuri’s camera is neatly placed behind one of its eyes. The camera can capture HD pictures and videos in a wide range of lighting conditions.
Kuri has two inbuilt speakers that deliver a rich sound experience. The sound is powerful enough to fill a room.
Shipping This Year
Kuri is currently available for pre-order in the US and is priced at $699. Mayfield is planning to ship the robots by the end of 2017.
Final Word
Kuri can patrol your home using a predetermined route. It lets you know if it spots something out of the ordinary, and it can use its motion and sound detection to hunt down an unusual occurrence and send you a recording. Kuri is a very cute robot with a lot of promise, but its success will depend on the different ways families make use of it.
Dhruvil is a Writer & Marketeer for Nimblechapps, joined in December 2014, based out of Sydney, Australia. He has worked briefly as a Branding and Digital Marketing Manager before moving to Australia. At Nimblechapps, he worked on Social Media Marketing, Branding, Email Marketing and Blogging. Dhruvil studies Business at University of Western Sydney, and also handles Operations for the company in Australia.