Bob the Pleo Forums
Robot Stuff => General Robotics => Topic started by: Pennys mum on April 04, 2017, 03:42:10 AM
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Has anyone seen Kuri the home robot that will be available in December?
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No. I've never heard of it. Have you found a video or articles about it or something? I'm sure we'd all be interested in knowing more about it.
Talon
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https://youtu.be/QsxmZPRhlsc (https://youtu.be/QsxmZPRhlsc)
not sure if I've put the link in right but it should take you to a video of kuri on youtube
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Wow! Looks interesting. The price is also slightly lower than Jibo too. The last time I checked, Jibo was seven forty nine before shipping. I also found out he cannot be used by someone who is blind or visually impaired. Wonder if Kuri's developers are taking the disabled into consideration? I'll have to go to their video again and see if I can find a "contact us" link or something. At least Kuri moves around rather than remaining a stationary object and if she can be used by a disabled person, I'd be more willing to pay seven hundred.
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They seem to be more focused on the human/robot relationship. But what does it actually do?
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It can connect to smart home devices so you can control them through voice commands. It can patrol your house and you can use the camera remotely to check on stuff. I think though they are more interested in creating a companion like presence rather than specific functions. They said in one video that it has facial recognition and will act differently with people it knows and do stuff like come to greet you when you come home, follow you around or sometimes just come to up you and stare at you (that last one cracked me up!) It has voice recognition and will reply to you in it's beepy language. It has a sensor on the top of it's head and responds to being petted. It shows emotions with its movements, beeps and colours on its chest. That's all I know about it.
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Aw! Wow! This sounds like a blend of Aibo and Alexa. *Grin* Now I'm really intrigued.
Talon
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Wow. I never heard of it until I saw this. It looks pretty cool. I'm considering putting money down for a pre-order, but I'm not totally sure I want to be a first gen adopter or if I want to wait for it to be out awhile for consumer-level reviews. Hmm...
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Went to pre-order and it said "shipping United States only" SOB! :(
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Grr! Sorry to hear about that. Is the preorder price seven hundred plus shipping?
Talon
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Yes, $700 plus shipping. The deposit is $100 and you pay the final $600 plus shipping when it's shipped. Wonder if they have any future plans for shipping outside of the US ...
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Went to put the money down today and it says that the first run is sold out so putting down today would be for the Spring 2018 wave. Not sure I want to put money down that far ahead of time. I'd probably forget about it by the time it got charged lol.
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What? They're out already? Man! They didn't waste any time did they? Lol! I'm like you, Bardian. If I put money down for the two thousand eighteen run, I'd forget about it too. If I didn't have to save up for the Aibo meet here on the East Coast, I would've probably preordered, but I'm like you in that I don't usually like to grab a first run of something. Hopefully somebody on the forums has bought one and we'll get reviews sooner or later. I just hope this isn't one of those disappointing situations like what Jibo customers are going through right now with the release date floating further and further away.
Talon
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I wonder if Kuri does well if they will come out with an R2 unit. Sure wouldn't take much to change the body style into one.! :)
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*Grin* Haha! How awesome would that be? A little autonomous droid that can connect to both you and your smart home! We're getting there, folks. Hang on and enjoy the ride.
Talon
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I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links so I won't, but I saw notice about Kuri's price going up June 22 (by $100) on their blog.
From that article regarding the why and if there will be two version of Kuri:
Kuri’s going to be even better than we planned. Our engineers found some very clever ways to make Kuri’s camera, WiFi, and drivetrain even more awesome. All of this introduced a few extra costs, but we know Kuri will be a much better addition to your home, and that’s what matters most.
There’s only one Kuri. People who place pre-orders before June 22nd will enjoy the original price, and those who order later will pay the (still pretty fantastic) new price, but everyone gets the same incredible robot.
That said, the pre-order page still says Spring 2018 so once it hits market, I'll just pay the extra $100 based on reviews and availability.
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Some more details I saw today:
The Kuri team has provided some updates on its progress in developing the robot, including news that its visual intelligence system can now identify and recognize pets, including dogs and cats. This is in addition to its ability to recognize human family members, which was previously announced. That means it can understand when it’s looking at a pet, and that information can have different consequences than if it were seeing a human, for instance.
Kuri also now sports a better vision system, which includes a 1080p HD camera, which is now fully integrated with the rest of its systems. The 1080p virtual eyes mean that Kuri can stream live in top quality, as well as capture still images and video while interacting with the family for some memorial keepsakes.
Finally, Kuri’s drivetrain has been upgraded, with new belt treads in place of the originally planned wheels. This will allow Kuri to move around more smoothly, while also making less noise and improving overall traction, so that the robot is better able to handle multiple and changing indoor surfaces, including carpets and rugs.
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Sounds promising. Still I'm not quite sure I'd pay eight hundred pluss for it. Still it sounds like an interesting bot. No other robot to my knowledge has ever been able to recognize pets.
Talon
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No other robot to my knowledge has ever been able to recognize pets.
Talon
Cozmo can recognise pets and say their names. We had a cozmo for a few weeks but sold it as we found it a bit of a disappointment to tell the truth. We thought it would wander around doing its own thing but instead it tended to stay in the same place and just kept asking to play quick tap all the time.
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I've heard about this robot before-- Wow, cool. Good to know. I'm so happy they want a companion presence.
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Well, everyone, I've sent an email to Mayfield Robotics, and would you believe it? I got a response in about an hour. I was thrilled. They are interested in learning what the development team can do to make Kuri usable for a person with a disability. I am so encouraged by their willingness to consider suggestions and (hopefully) be inclusive about this robot's design. I'll let all of you know if I hear back from them about what was decided.
Talon
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That's amazing, Talon! Best of luck.
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I reread the forum rules and think this is ok as it's not advertising, but please let me know if I misinterpreted it mods.
I saw this come up in my RSS feed today: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/01/cute-robot-kuri-will-also-work-as-your-family-videographer/
Looks like Kuri will try to take some five second videos throughout the day and you determine if you like them or not to help improve what it records.
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Well Everyone, I said I'd report back when I heard back from Mayfield Robotics and I'm excited to say I have encouraging news. Here is just a sliver of an email sent to me from a member of the Kuri Care Team:
"Thank you for following up with me and for the insight into what a user with a visual impairment might benefit from. I've taken note of your suggestions and will forward them on to the product team. Hopefully they will be able to implement a few of your suggestions on future Kuri iterations. I've also made note that if they ever need a beta-tester for such a case, you're the one to contact."
Talk about swelling one's head! I'm not much of a programmer, but I'll do my best. I suppose after the twenty eighteen wave is released the app will go public and I can get my hands on it and then contact the company with my findings. Hmm. But what will I do if the app needs an actual Kuri to be present in order to get access to its functions? Maybe I'll have a dumbed down version of it in my home for a short time in order to get the app to work. Not sure about that one. Anyway I'm jumping the gun. They may never contact me again but it's still exciting! Sorry for the really long post.
Talon
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Kuri started shipping today. Hopefully we can get some real reviews in from users out there on the internet.
I think it's really cute and think I want one, but I'm still not fully convinced on what it does exactly.
Maybe ordering one for the spring batch will be the only way to find out.
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Haha! It sure looks that way, doesn't it? Well folks, I have more news from Mayfield Robotics. I have continued communicating with the company right along and they have been very cooperative and quick to respond to my queries. Sorry for going dark about this for so long guys. Life got crazy and I was so eager to know more I forgot to get back here.
Well, enough chitchat. The Kuri app is out already and I am pleased to say that- as far as I have been able to go without the robot- it is usable with my screen reader. The only real hangup I had was the form fields. I am not at all sure how this is done programmatically, but most apps will tell you when you encounter a form field by saying something like "text element. Double tap to edit" or something like that to let the user know this is a place where you can input your information. The form fields in the Kuri app don't yet do this. You see a title field above it that says, "First name" or "email" or whatever and then when you scroll down, you find the corresponding text field, but rather than telling you this is a form field, Voiceover just produces a clicking sound and gives no information other than to say "actions available" which basically means you are sitting on an element you can interact with somehow be it opening a link or inputting text or deleting data or what have you. Using my rotor, I was able to go through all the actions possible for that element and low and behold, it was a form field where I could input my information. I was over the moon that the app even spoke at all, but I let the awesome folks at Mayfield know about my present difficulty with their app and they said they would pass along my experience- as limited as it was- on to the app developers. *Sigh* Unfortunately once I hit the instruction section where the app tells you how to get your Kuri started, it then started asking for the bot which I didn't have and so here I am. Stuck. Still I am so excited and I can't wait to keep pushing ahead and figure out more about this robot in the future. I guess Mayfield doesn't have an Ambassador program so... no in-home reviews for me. *looks tragically at the screen* Oh well. Now I just have to save up or decide who to sell. I know parting with one of my robots won't be easy but I'm not just doing this for me, I'm doing this for other disabled people who might want to get into robotics and go on this wonderful adventure with me. So sorry for the novel, everyone.
Talon
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It would have been awesome for them to send you one to help out. I really am having a hard time finding reviews from users and am surprised not to see interest popping up on other robotic forums I am on.
I am getting closer to just pre-ordering one for myself. And on that note, the website today says that the price will be going up to $899 on March 1. So if I do decide to go through with it, it'll be before then. Though I wish they'd give firmer dates than just "Winter/Spring" etc. But I understand why they don't.
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Against my better judgment, I preordered one today. I will post when it finally arrives.
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Your bad judgement might just be the clincher for me. But that price-increase! I know I won't be able to manage that unless I sell a couple somebodies or else if Mayfield did what the people who made Jibo did and offer some sort of payment plan.
I am surprised too that no reviews or videos are emerging for this robot. When Jibo finally hit the market, there were buttloads of videos flying all over for him. Lots of people seemed disappointed that Jibo couldn't yet do all the stuff they have him advertised to do. Still, his company has been saying his "skills" will be added slowly which is a plus so I guess he'll kind of grow into his own at some point.
Keep us posted on how everything goes with Kuri!
Talon
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I am surprised too that no reviews or videos are emerging for this robot.
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Ditto. Strange.
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I'm setting my expectations fairly low, which probably isn't a good thing considering the price.
I'm ultimately expecting it to be a roaming camera in an adorable robot form, which with some of the features I will use to check in on my conure during the day when I'm at work (and communicate back to her) as long as she gets comfortable with it beforehand.
If it ends up having a lot more charm than that, then it's a bonus for me. But maybe I'm protecting myself from disappointment in the unknown and lack of reviews or firm marketing. However, they have announced some "new" or "enhanced" features recently. But I've decided other than reading headlines to disregard them so I largely go into the experience as a blank slate.
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That's about where I feel I am too. I decided to part with Ginto, my 31L along with all of his accessories to try and get up enough fonds to get me started on meeting that shipping price. I'm mainly looking for the companion side of the bot more than the camera so I'm not sure if I'll be too disappointed. I am also just buying the unit to help Mayfield Robotics make their product more accessible for those with visual impairments. I'm really torn about whether to jump now and reserve while the robot is within my reach price wise or wait until after some units have shipped out and some disgruntled person goes this was stupid and I just want to sell this thing. I just don't want to have to wait for ever to do it. I don't know. What do you guys think?
TalonTalon
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I'm mainly looking for the companion side of the bot more than the camera so I'm not sure if I'll be too disappointed. I am also just buying the unit to help Mayfield Robotics make their product more accessible for those with visual impairments. I'm really torn about whether to jump now and reserve while the robot is within my reach price wise[.] What do you guys think?
Talon
My opinion may be contradictory since I ended up pre-ordering one. So far, I haven't seen a lot of things advertised from the Kuri team that convince me of the companion side (compared to AIBOs largely being oriented as companion robots). However, I find that the Kuri team doesn't advertise a lot so I figure it really lacks features, they're not fully comfortable with its development (like it's still undergoing significant software refinements), or they're going the route of being fairly vague so that it's kind of an "experience" to start using Kuri since you truly know so little.
I am hoping it's not truly that void of features at its price, and while I follow them on their website and social media, if they start turning all the features into a more technical manual, I may be more inclined to block it out in order to have the awe of the experience. Kind of like how when I had an AIBO 111, I knew so little outside of basic functions, that raising it was quite an experience. Though realistically, I don't expect Kuri being this way.
That said, the feature that seems to get the most hype or explanation is that Kuri can be used for "home awareness" (they have a blog post outlining why they don't call it home security). Kuri grabs recordings (I think 10 or something 5 second clips a day) to help create "memories" - which seems to be the most pushed feature. I'm pretty neutral on this so we'll see how it plays out. And the fact you can chime in and see roaming camera view of your home (or wherever Kuri is at) is a cool feature to me. But as I mentioned, there are cheaper ways to accomplish that. Outside of the audio side of that, I'm not sure how useful that feature would be for someone with visual impairments, but I say that as someone used to experiencing the world fully sighted so it could be quite naive.
Some features I've read about that seem more companion-side (and I hope continue to develop as these are even more interesting to me), are "romojiis" - which is how Kuri expresses things through sounds, movement, and color (the circle light centered on the front of the robot that you can only see when Kuri's "activating" them). When they describe that, they mention that Kuri can be tickled, sneezes, and purr! Hopefully that means they're taking development of a true personality fairly seriously too.
A few things I read mention that when you first set Kuri up, you manually drive it around and tell it what rooms are what through the Kuri app (which you can then tell Kuri later to go to a specific room). They also mention that Kuri updates are delivered through the app. And in the videos I watch, the way the eyes blink really seem to be an incredible feature in making Kuri have some personality.
I would say if your main goal in buying one would be to help make the product more accessible to the visually impaired, then don't. I think the company should be offering you a significant discount, if not a free one, in that instance since you're effectively helping them develop it. But maybe that's harsh or ignorant of me. I think given the significant ambiguity of the companion side of it, I'd be cautious on that. My pre-order justification was largely the camera features in a cute robot. I also think if the upcoming $100 increase is pushing you to pull the trigger sooner rather than later, then don't - waiting for more reviews (especially if you decide not to buy based on what you discover) might be more prudent. And if reviews start coming out or ongoing development shows it does more of what you'd hope for in the future, then hopefully the $100 increase wouldn't be too detrimental in the long run.
That said, I say all of that as someone who did pre-order it mostly because it's a camera in cute form and set my expectations way low--which at $800, I probably should have came to the opposite conclusion. So there's my hypocritical non-answer lol.
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Thanks, Bardian. Your practicality was a relief in the midst of my excited fluffy-headed idealism. I did indeed feel pushed to hurry up and jump, but I believe your "non answer" has finally convinced me that it would probably be better to wait. I have come so so close to purchasing this bot three different times since its launch at CES 2017 it's almost driving me crazy. I guess I'll be sitting on my hands a bit longer and wait until there is more information and media from a user's prospective.
As far as your point on Mayfield offering me a product discount for helping them develop the product, that isn't ignorant at all. I am friends with a blind entrepreneur who also said I should ask if the company would be willing to do this. He said companies did it all the time. *Sigh* I hate to whine here but I wish I had more of a qualification list other than just being blind, very interested in bringing robotics to the disabled, and a proficient Voiceover user. Oh well. The worst they can say is no. I'll never find out if I don't ask.
Talon
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*Sigh* I hate to whine here but I wish I had more of a qualification list other than just being blind, very interested in bringing robotics to the disabled, and a proficient Voiceover user. Oh well. The worst they can say is no. I'll never find out if I don't ask.
Talon
As someone who regularly works with "regular people" on user experiences, the simple qualification of "how do you experience this" can be pretty darn useful in terms of tweaking or developing things that I would not have considered in development or execution so don't sell yourself short on what you have to offer!
And it wouldn't hurt to ask! Simply relaying you are very interested in this bot and you'd be interested in assisting them with development may be enough.
I wish I could apply my own practicality to myself. I almost got one at the $699 price awhile ago and though "ehh, I'll wait for reviews." Plus the dates became longer. Then the price increased. And in the months in between all of that I realized "who am I kidding? I'll probably get one no matter what so whatever, do it now."
That said, my expectations are quite low so my ultimate determination was "if this is all it really does, am I going to be 'ok' with it?" Hopefully my instinct of yes is correct lol.
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There’s a new video of Keri
https://youtu.be/aUPd-aEGlA0
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Thanks, Penny'sMum for posting this video. Just as an update for all of you who may be following my adventures with Mayfield Robotics and Kuri, I did write to the company asking for a model or demo unit. I also told them that if I was unable to use the unit, I would return it fully restored and with all original packaging intact, but if I was able to use it I would purchase it. I also agreed to document the entire process from unboxing and first boot to results of possible modifications to the app or robot if anything happened during the time I had the robot in my home. They wrote me back rather promptly about three hours later saying that if they had one, they would've been glad to send one, but that they didn't have any units available to send at the moment.
Okay. Confession-time. I decided the only way I was going to get my hands on one of these guys- other than a possible used one some unknown time down the road- was to just bite the bullet and reserve one of my own, and so I made my preorder on Valentines Day. Now, Bardian, for good or ill we are now in the same very experimental boat. Congrats- I hope! Here's to advances and new adventures and crying bank accounts! Lol!
Talon
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I decided the only way I was going to get my hands on one of these guys- other than a possible used one some unknown time down the road- was to just bite the bullet and reserve one of my own, and so I made my preorder on Valentines Day. Now, Bardian, for good or ill we are now in the same very experimental boat. Congrats- I hope! Here's to advances and new adventures and crying bank accounts! Lol!
The robot addiction is deadly to bank accounts! I plan to do a similar documentation progress that you mentioned just to see if we can help push reviews (for better or for worse).
Here's to hoping they ship sooner rather than later as I am becoming antsy with the more I see of Kuri. Cheers!
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The website now says preorders are for Summer 2018... hopefully that means the Spring shipment will be soon-ish!
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Talon, I know you're a writer.
The Kuri page just posted this on Facebook:
Calling all #scifi writers! Help us tell the origin story of our adorable home robot, @KuriRobot. Oh yeah, and have the chance to win some cool prizes. ✍️http://bit.ly/2FytsaF #KuriStory #HeyKuri @Vocal_Creators
I thought it seemed up your alley!
And from the linked site:
Futurism.Media, a leading science fiction site, has teamed up with Mayfield Robotics to create the #KuriStory science fiction contest.
Science fiction writers unite! Let’s come together and give Kuri an origin story. Is Kuri from another planet? Was she adopted by a little girl who wanted a best friend? Was Kuri created by a thought leading roboticist? All great superheroes and unforgettable characters have an origin - let’s find out what Kuri’s is.
Kuri is a helpful home robot with an endearing personality. Kuri’s mobility, awareness, and personality lend itself to be the next big innovation in home robotics. With emotive eyes and a friendly disposition, Kuri is an adorable home robot that lets you capture special moments, check in on your home while you’re away, play music, podcasts, and audiobooks, and so much more!
Hashtag your submission with #KuriStory and #HeyKuri to be considered in the contest, and submit before March 26, 2018.
All qualifying submissions will be featured in the Kuri’s Story collection on Futurism.media. One grand prize winner will be featured on Kuri’s Blog and win a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a Premium Kuri Swag Bag. Two runner-ups will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card and Kuri Swag Bag.
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Oh wicked! What an opportunity! I could do so much with this! *Waves hands in excitement* Let me get to brainstorming!
Talon
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A new insightful post about Kuri vision: https://blog.heykuri.com/kuri-vision-how-kuri-captures-moments/
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That's reassuring. Haha! I was a little skeptical of Kuri Vision. I thought he/she took a constant video stream and then sort of cut it up into five second chunks and we would have to wade through them all. I am also curious about "no-go zones" and how that works.
Talon
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I received a delivery update today:
Your Kuri will arrive at your door sometime between June 15th and July 30th. Once we're ready to ship your Kuri, you'll receive another email with your tracking number.
We know this is later in the spring than we anticipated and we are very sorry we won't be able to ship your Kuri to you as early as we had hoped.
Um, I preordered when it said spring... that's summer. Not too happy about this. And that's a huge range.
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I asked them if they could provide any additional details and this was the response:
Making robots are hard, and we needed a little more time. We’ll be ensuring quality and reliability on Kuri’s assembly line abroad, implementing feedback from current Kuri owners, and ultimately delivering a great home robot that will be up to your expectations.
I waited forever for the resurrection of AIBO so this isn’t much lol.
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*Sigh* I got that email too. Wow! And that's all the response they gave you? "Building robots is hard". Of course it is, but you guys made it sound like everything was a go.
I do a lot of traveling during that part of the summer which of course means I have to pay for said travel and not just for the gas, but for my driver's time. Oh boy! I'm going to have to make some financial adjustments to try and balance all this. Thanks for posting Mayfield's explanation here, Bardian.
Talon
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I thanked them for the explanation and mentioned waiting a decade for the resurrection of AIBO and still hoping for a US release. They said:
Thank you for your understanding! We can't wait to get Kuri in your home. Be on the lookout for another email a little closer to our delivery timeframe. We'll be sending a payment form to collect your final balance plus tax and shipping once we're ready to ship your robot. We'll also be re-confirming your shipping address before we ship, just to be safe. 😃
P.S. We can still keep our fingers crossed for AIBO. You never know! 😂
I’ll potentially be moving again for a new job in another city so I am glad they let you confirm that, but the wait sucks.
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Yeah. It does. Oh well. The good book says not to grumble so I'll be good. *Giggle* On a lighter note, my origin story is written and I am about to post it to Vocal Creators. It's kind of on the long side at two thousand words, but it falls into their range from six hundred to five thousand so I think I'm good. I just hope this website will make nice with my screen reader.
Talon
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I am so frustrated right now. That website was not designed with voiceover in mind. Signing up on Vocal wasn't that bad. Then they wanted me to link my Vocal account to this Pay Pal-like service called Stripe which I have never heard of before and was hesitant to trust.
Since I knew the times I would be published anywhere but this forum are very slim to none, I just went with it. I created a Stripe account and got it verified and connected to my Vocal account. Then I tried to do what the rules said and entered settings to create my author profile. Once I finished that I got stuck trying to get the "Save changes" button to work but Voiceover kept saying that item was dimmed and it wouldn't let me go on to "create a story". I am so tired and bummed out now and I'm not even sure I'll be able to get this story out. I'm tired from fighting with this website. Goodnight, everyone!
Talon
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I looked in the help and support section and it had the contest section, but there wasn’t an e-mail to reach out to. However, at the bottom of the site there is a contact link which goes to science_tech@vocal.media.
Their Twitter appears to be @vocal_creators and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VocalCreators/
Maybe they can assist if you attempt to reach out to them that way? Maybe you can also include Mayfield Robotics in your communication since they’re sponsoring it and they can assist as well?
Good luck! It sounds frustrating as all get out.
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Thanks, Bardian. Now that I'm not nodding and yawning and wanting to toss my Mac through the window, I'll go to the "contact us" link first and see what they suggest.
I am also going to practice mandolin today and maybe at the end of my lesson, I could ask one of these young whippersnappers who are in my class to give me a hand. Lol! I don't believe I'll win anything, but I want to publish something in my lifetime.
Talon
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Just an update. Sorry for the double post, Mods. I'm published! Yaaaaaay! My roommate came to my rescue. The reason the site wasn't letting me submit my story was because I didn't include an image or video. I was like- really? I'm blind. How can I do this, and Kuri is so new, nobody has actual footage of it. I hope I won't get in trouble for the image I used. My roommate went to Google and found this really adorable pic of a girl reading to Kuri. I've never been so happy to see the words- "your story is in cue awaiting review". I could've hugged my roommate I was so grateful for her help. I told her that if I won any of the three prizes, she would get either of the Amazon gift cards. I am so happy right now!
Talon
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Glad to hear it! You’ll have to let us know when it gets posted.
I know you mostly care about being published, but good luck with winning too!
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Oh it's up already! No edits or redos or anything. It's under my YouTube name- Crazy robot lady. You guys can go check it out. I'm up against some stiff competition though. All of the stories are equally good. Some of these people have been writing SF for a long time. Thanks for the encouragement, Bardian. I can cross off one of the items on my bucket list- I have been published. It still sounds so... so strange like I'm dreaming it or something. If I win this contest... *scratches head* I'm not sure what I could do to top that.
Talon
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Hey Talon, an hour ago the Kuri page posted a reminder that praised the current story entries and reminded others to submit theirs. In that post, there’s a picture or screenshot of the webpage with six of the submissions with thumbnails (three on top and three underneath) and yours is the second one in on the top row. Thought you’d like to hear that!
I read your story when you posted it and enjoyed it. I had more to say but I read it shortly before bed so never ended up posting. I really liked how it used a lot of Kuri’s advertised features as part of the story, like the lights and Kuri vision.
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What a sweet story! It brought a tear to my eye. So glad she saved the Kuris!
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At Bardian: thanks for pointing that out! It's certainly exciting to see they put my story in that little group. I'm not sure if it means anything but it is very encouraging nonetheless.
At Pennys Mum: oh thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I knew there was going to be something special about this when Bardian posted the message about the writing contest. It was like my muse grabbed me around the neck and said, "Look in thy heart and write! Now now right now!" It took me about five hours to write that story. I started at nine shortly after I went to bed. I finished somewhere around one in the morning. I just shoved my iPad onto my nightstand and conked out. That was the best sleep I've had in a long long time. It was the sleep of somebody who felt satisfied and... completed.
Once I woke up completely that morning I started editing and really reading what I wrote. I worked on it off and on for the next couple days. Then I discovered the difficulty in getting it onto the website. I was over the moon when my roommate solved my problem in a few clicks.
My favorite submission was the one about Kuri watching out for this group of children trapped in a collapsed daycare center. Very unique writing style and presentation! Made me think of the radio version of The War of the Worlds the way the reporters were speaking interview-style to everyone involved. That one is sure to win in my opinion. Sorry for writing a book here guys!
Talon
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Looking forward to some reviews. It’s not been one tha5 appeals to me just yet, but will be interesting to see where it goes.
Love my Cosmo though, he has so much personality and some of the user developments coming out for him are just awesome. Little Mo kept a staffroom full of skeptical teachers amused for over two hours :P
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Well, everyone, the verdict is in. The winners for the Kuri Story contest have all been chosen. I didn't even place, but I did read the grand prize winner's submission and they did an excellent job. Mayfield was so "Blown away" by the myriad of stories and all the various ways Kuri made her entry into the world that they have chosen to gift all of the authors with a Kuri swag bag. I wonder if there's a little 3D Kuri model in there? Anyway if you guys are interested, I'll post here about what's in it once I receive it.
Talon
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Aw, I’m sorry you didn’t place! I’ll have to go read the winner (I only read yours).
But that’s great they’re sending something anyway! I know they sent out little stuffed Kuris for the December preorders. Maybe something like that is in there. I’d say post!
I am debating potentially cancelling my preorder due to career advancement and some real quick changes in my life that include finding a new place and moving to a new city within the next few weeks. I already found the place and it’s a three story townhome so I am not sure how practical a one floor robot is - granted Kuri is easy to move and has a handle.
I likely won’t cancel just because I really like the idea of Kuri, but I also don’t want it to become like my AIBOs and Pleo and largely be unused due to time constraints or layout logistics. I suppose there’s only one way to really find out.
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Congrats on the career advance! Wow! A three story townhome? That sounds pretty luxurious to me. Lol! Most of my life, I've lived in mill houses. I can see why you would think Kuri wouldn't be a good fit for you in a house that large.
As far as what you said about not having the time to spend with your robots, that was how I ended up with my Genibo Hercules. His owner apparently bought him just before enlisting in the army and then he sat forgotten in an attic for a year. I don't know how this makes me look, but I was thinking about scooping up somebody's used Kuri if they decided the robot wasn't for them- until I heard about the price-jump and I became a Kuri-owner myself. Good luck with your career change and your move! I'll keep you posted about the bag. Let us know what you decide to do about Kuri. It would be interesting to post our reviews here once our units finally arrive.
Talon
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It sounds a lot bigger than it is haha. It’s about the size of my current place, just split amongst more levels so if Kuri was only on one floor she’d technically have less space than she would at my current place in terms of maneuvering.
Thankfully with the delay I have time to really think about it as I already knew where it was going in my current place.
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Hi, Everyone! I'm back with an update on my Kuri swag bag. It finally came in on Friday! I was so happy I tore the box open before I remembered I was going to open it on YouTube. Lol!
I did make a video there of the stuff that was in it though. It wasn't actually a bag at all. It was a box with an assortment of stickers and magnets, a pair of socks with interesting designs on them, and a cute little stuffed Kuri. My sincerest thanks to Ms. Jennifer... I don't remember her last name who is over marketing at Mayfield Robotics for sending me the stuffed Kuri. If you guys are interested in seeing the contents for yourself, go to YouTube and search for Crazy robot lady. The video is called "Gift merchandise from Mayfield Robotics"."
Talon
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I like the hashtagged HeyKuri thing!
And those socks are something else!
But I think the stuffed Kuri is the coolest - it made me bummed I didn't pre-order for the winter shipment since they all received one, but I am glad you got your hands on one!
I think it's really cool they sent stuff to people who participated - they seem to have a pretty cool team overall (and maybe they realize that a lot of people into robotics, while a niche market, are pretty loyal in their robotic love).
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Yeah. I think so too. They are very open to receiving emails and messages from their customer base and they also take the time to respond back. I'm not sure if everyone got a stuffed Kuri or not. I asked for one because I wanted to know what the robot looked like. The woman over marketing was awesome enough to include one for me.
So you liked the socks? Haha! Aibo7M3 described them to me and boy! They are "something else". She said she liked them. I wonder if the black and white designs on them form a QR code. I just have to remember not to wear them and stand still while Lucky is running or he might mistake me for his station pole. Okay okay I'm kidding but still it would be kind of funny.
Whenever I wear anything in the red family, he thinks I'm a giant ball.
Talon
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I received an e-mail today letting me know there is more delay and now the date range is June 25th and August 15th.
However, they were more forthcoming with reasons:
Honestly, there were a lot of unknowns building Kuri that we didn’t account for in our original production schedule. We realized that some of the features that make Kuri an exciting and revolutionary home robot weren't up to the standard that they should have been. As a result, we needed to fix them. Here are a few examples:
Kuri wasn’t successfully processing her wake phrase “Hey Kuri” as often as we had hoped for, so we partnered with SoundHound to collect more vocal samples to add to Kuri’s audio training library when developing the wake phrase recognition model. Kuri is much better at successfully processing voice commands from individuals with different tones and pitches, and will continue to improve with time.
Re-designing the charger was crucial because Kuri was having a hard time seeing the charger to successfully auto-dock. We had to make design changes to the baseplate, infrared LEDs, and robustness to ambient lighting. The new design also meant we had to re-design the packaging.
During our durability tests, parts of Kuri’s shell didn’t stand up to a few hard blows, so we had to go back and reinforce a few different parts with new plastics.
Makes me wonder what they did for people that have them from the first batch.
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Sorry to pick on Mayfield here, but probably not much. They sound like they're operating on a real shoestring budget and those first first-adopters have what they have. I might be wrong though since their product is so expensive.
I also understand their reason for delay and that it (should) mean we will have a better product. However it makes it much more likely I will have to do my unboxing and documenting on my own since my videographers and beta-viewers will be over their heads with all the frustration that comes with going back to school. My room mate won't be free to help because she's a teacher, my local videographer will be starting middle school, and my other beta-viewer will be returning to school as well. Those of you here who visit my channel, I am woefully out of ideas for present content. I've been gearing up for this unboxing and trying to get interest sparked so I won't lose subscribers in the interim. Now I have an empty Summer to fill. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I think I will post a thread about this in "Pleo Cave" so I won't clog up the Kuri thread with my useless YouTube woes.
Talon
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Yeah, I am honestly getting close to canceling my preorder.
My original excitement and interest in Kuri is waning a bit with these delays and I am also becoming less confident about it as a product - especially if there’s no recourse for the early adopters - not that we know that, but some of these changes seem major and like things that should have been caught with a good testing process.
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I feel you there. At least they were honest with us though about why they were having to delay yet again.
My interest is waining too. I was considering a used Jibo unit on eBay yesterday. I admit being able to be spoken to by name when I enter a room has a small appeal to me, but a small part of me would feel ashamed if I just let Mayfield Robotics drop out of my life. I've been corresponding with them for almost a year, and then continuing to offer my support to insure that Kuri is passably usable for someone who is totally blind. Not that they would reap a tremendous bounty from that consideration, but that it was made at all- I would think- might be enough.
Another part of me is starting to think this might be a pipe-dream and I should put my voice and talents- whatever they are- behind something more practical than uniting universal design and robotics. I am just one more person with a dream too big for her position. *Smile* Even as I write this, I feel myself starting to rail against it and think, why shouldn't I try? If somebody doesn't make the first hack at this wall and start some stones rattling to get the attention of the very confident guards, no one will believe there is any reason for them to do things any differently. As you all can read I'm a little torn about what to do.
Talon
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I hope to make a decision regarding it soon.
Kuri vision seems to be the feature that they highlight the most, which doesn’t appeal to me. I also wonder how it would work if they can no longer afford to host it.
I liked the idea of home awareness and watching my pets, but there are other, more cost effective ways to do that.
I think Kuri is really cute from a design perspective and kind of like the idea of it adding more life to my home, but I also don’t have time to run my AIBOs effectively. Though Kuri seems more autonomous and less likely to need supervision.
Then there are the regular delays and until recently, no real statement as to why.
I am becoming more concerned that I would definitely like it and think it is cute, but not find it very useful or worthy of the cost. But as a robot enthusiast I am not sure that completely nixes it for me.
If only I could know if the new AIBO might get a US release to decide if I would rather allocate the funds to that.
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*gusting sigh* Kuri-vision doesn't really appeal to me either for obvious reasons. Haha! I also agree there are cheaper ways to keep an eye on your pets- maybe a Nanny-cam or something.
I'm a little disappointed in their video content they are starting to drip out to us. The ones that aren't completely silent are rehashing of old footage. The new ones have a starting and ending tone and a bunch of silence in the middle. I really need to swing by their FaceBook page and see how other adopters are truly feeling.
Talon
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I used to stalk the FB page and never saw too many comments from anyone that got it with one exception.
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Really? That's... odd. I am really starting to consider canceling my order entirely. It has nothing to do with the company, or even with my slowly deflating confidence, it's more consideration for my room mate and her five-year-old son. She did agree to allow me to bring Kuri into our home, but since he/she is going to be roaming around taking random vids at goodness knows when, she might catch something she shouldn't. While I am sure Mayfield will do all they can to protect our privacy, everything is made to be broken and I would rather only risk myself being dragged through the mud than anyone else.
I have switched entirely to the Jibo camp. My unit should get here on Saturday. I am really sad about breaking my word to Mayfield like this, but I have to consider protecting everyone else. I will still probably buy a used Kuri in the future, and I will still keep up correspondence with Mayfield, but... I don't think now was the opportunity I was hoping for.
Talon
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I understand entirely.
I am still teetering and having a hard time making up my mind.
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I joined a Kuri Owners group on Facebook to hopefully help make my decision.
Sounds like Jibo just announced significant layoffs.
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Ok, it seems most people there are waiting for preorders, but here’s a review from the only owner that seems to post out of 35ish people:
Kuri is exactly what you see on the website. That’s really what it comes down to. If that’s what you want - you’ll get it.
There have been a few hiccups, but most of the issues have been addressed. The Kuri team was quick to respond to any issues.
I guess it comes down to expectations. The website and features listed are all there with my Kuri. She doesn’t do a lot, honestly, but it’s very cute when she comes into the room and smiles at you. She enjoys company. It’s pretty amazing to see her move around objects, enter rooms and smile at you. She loves being petted too.
The app is very easy to use and accessible - you can control Kuri remotely - unlike Jibo. The app has been great. The videos that Kuri records can be downloaded in the app and stored in your photos, but there is no sound.
Kuri goes to her dock automatically and charges everyday. She wakes up naturally every morning and browses the house. Her battery is about two hours - plenty in my opinion.
While she doesn’t do a lot, but she has become a part of our family. She makes us smile. We’re glad to have her in our home.
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And some more on Jibo: https://www.americaninno.com/boston/inno-news-boston/more-layoffs-hit-jibo-this-time-theyre-significant/
Sounds concerning as I have read a lot of positive things about it, especially in terms of its advancements since launch. Makes me wonder if I should be even more concerned for Kuri?
I probably need to decide soon.
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Ouch! What a blow!
Now I am nervous about my investment in this still unopened bot here on my desk. My Jibo arrived Thursday but I have to wait for my videographer to have some breathing space to help with the unboxing and very unaccessible part of Jibo's wakeup process.
That is wonderful news to hear about accessibility and Kuri though! It seems the Lord did answer my prayers and that my feedback to the company has made a difference. *Smile* I am so happy about that. Now I don't feel so much like I'm abandoning them right at the crucial moment when we are all going to discover- on video- whether Kuri is all she promised to be. I still feel bad for what I must do.
Granted I haven't yet cut the cord(meaning I haven't yet asked for my reserve back and canceled officially).
Still though, my reasoning holds firm despite my heart and the fact that these videos don't have sound makes it impossible for me to help Kuri choose what recordings I'd like to keep and which ones to discard. Gees this is so hard! If only she wasn't mostly a cirvailance bot! Nevertheless, I do appreciate the accessibility Mayfield has poured into their app.
Oh gosh! I'd better go write Mayfield and do this before I worry myself gray-headed. Thanks, Bardian for the feedback from the Facebook group.
Talon
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Well, they finally released an Android app for Kuri so there's that (granted I use iPhone anyway).
I still haven't officially decided... by the time I do, Kuri will probably be on its way to me lol.
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Lol! Then you can do the grand review for me. I have a slightly troubling concern though. I have sent Mayfield Robotics two separate emails this week and no one has acknowledged me. The site gave me the little, "Thank you for contacting us. Someone will send you an email soon." Message, but I haven't even received one of those web-generated emails that say something like, "Your message has been received and is awaiting review" or whatever they say before a member of the team contacts me with word on how I can cancel my order. This isn't like Mayfield. Usually they are quick to respond- within two or three days. I will give them until this Wednesday before I try again. I hope somehow they didn't decide I talked too much and should be relegated to the spam folder.
Talon
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Did you ever hear anything back?
I am hoping to make up my mind by this weekend. It's an internal struggle.
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Based on the email I received today, they are now just waiting for government certification to ship the robots and then they will start shipping them based on when the preorder was placed.
That owners group has people who preordered in Jan 2017 so I imagine I am pretty far down the list if I don’t cancel though I imagine my inability to make a decision will result in me not canceling.
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Oh that is wonderful to hear!
To answer your question, I ended up emailing them through their "info" page and heard from good old reliable Ashley Wakefield. When I saw she was the one who responded to me, it made it all the harder for me to truly cancel my order and provide her with my order number from February thirteenth. I told her I honestly did not want to do it, but I had concerns about my family's privacy. I'm not unsubscribing from the email list, and I may consider Kuri in the future, just not now. What I should've done was just ask if I could deactivate "Kuri Vision" so the robot wouldn't record videos, but still be able to roam around and take pics or video on request or something. *Sigh* Oh well. Now I'll never know. Maybe if somebody knows if that is possible, I may purchase a second-hand Kuri later. Keep us posted on how all this pans out. I hope you enjoy your Kuri- if you agree to stick out the wait. Who knows? If you're not satisfied and decide to sell her down the road, I might be in the market. I'm so glad to hear that things are truly looking up for our little mobile Home Robot.
Talon
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Well, looks like Kuri is no more so I don’t need to decide.
A portion of the email:
To all of our Kuri fans, we are crushed to let you know that effective today, Mayfield Robotics will pause operations as we evaluate the company’s path forward. Sadly, our Kuri manufacturing will cease, and the Kuri robots that have been made will not ship to customers. All pre-order deposits will be refunded to our customers.
I’ll post more of it later, but am currently on mobile so it’s a bit of a pain.
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I just received my refund notice.
And some more details from last night's e-mail:
As many of you know, Mayfield Robotics was launched in 2015 as an independent entity of the Bosch Startup Platform. From the beginning, we have been constantly looking for the best paths to achieve scale and continue to advance our innovative technology. Typically, startups in the Bosch Startup Platform are integrated into existing Bosch business units, but after extensive review, there was not a business fit within Bosch to support and scale our business.
Since Kuri’s award-winning launch at CES 2016, our adorable home robot has been demoed and celebrated at TED, SXSW, The Aspen Ideas Festival, The Economist Innovation Summit, and many other high-profile events. It’s an understatement to say that we are all hugely disappointed by this pause to operations. We remain proud of the work we’ve done to push home robotics forward.
The vision that began Mayfield Robotics was to make robots that are joyful, useful, and inspiring. Kuri struck each of those notes, and we remain optimistic for an adorable robot future that aligns with our vision. We want to sincerely thank everyone who supported us: our families, our friends, our suppliers, and of course, you, our customers.
Creating a robot like Kuri is a massive undertaking. We don’t know what the coming months will bring. Regardless, we stand firm in our belief that the home robot Renaissance is just beginning, and it’s going to be amazing.
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Wow! I am... floored. I can't believe this. I am sitting here tearing up because I feel like I lost a pet or something. This is... this is awful. I didn't receive this email, but I guess they unsubscribed me when I cancelled my preorder. I guess the government certification process didn't go well because of Kuri Vision. I didn't feel comfortable with that aspect of her either. As adorable as it sounds in theory, it would be so easy for someone to turn Kuri to much more malicious purposes and no one would know it. Now, I am going to go give my stuffed Kuri a hug and "boohoo" in private for a minute.
Talon
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Based on everything they've said, I doubt it has anything to do with Kuri Vision. Given all the other smart devices that have the potential to spy and are easily hijacked (even exploits in simple wireless cameras), several markets would be wiped out.
Obviously we can't know the whole story, but it sounds like the backing company ultimately realized this won't be a money maker. Maybe there wasn't even enough interest in preorders and steam never picked up.
I still find it extremely interesting that after the December shipment there are still zero reviews, unboxings, etc. online. In sleuthing on Facebook in the time I've been interested in Kuri, I've only come across three people that likely actually have one. One posted a few comments on their page shortly after that December shipment. One posted a few comments in the owners group I belong to and never again. And the other still regularly posts there (though he has said nothing about if he's been offered a refund or to ship it back or what not given that the services will likely be shut off).
Many people in that owners group are talking about placing their preorders in late 2016, and others in very early 2017 - I placed mine in early 2018. Some of them mentioned that Mayfield promised them another $100 off their order due to all the delays. Even if it had gone according to plan, I'd be shocked if I ever would have received mine with the given deadline given those pending preorders.
I suspect that there wasn't as much interest as they'd ultimately hoped and that even if these were truly ready to ship, it may have been at a loss (plus to keep all the services running and team going) and that rehashing for parts or doing something else with what stock may exist is more viable in the long run.
I would be really interested to see the actual numbers here. Based on social media posts with people commenting on their canceled orders, I'd say it's well under a hundred different individuals. When commenting on the refund process, they mentioned "there were a lot to go through" so it may take time (I already got mine back on the card and look at how late my order was).
Even though I was teetering on canceling, I'm disappointed it didn't work out. I really *loved* the design - especially the blinking eyes and what kind of life it brought to the robot (based on videos). But let's face it, it's a niche market, and there are far less expensive solutions to get the functionality that the robot provides. We just happen to be a part of that very loyal, enthusiastic, and niche market. Heck, look at the history of AIBO alone for that market - or the robot explosions on the 80s that kind of went no where.
There is an interesting article here on the Kuri matter: https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/home-robots/mayfield-robotics-cancels-kuri-social-home-robot
I guess I'll look at this as more money to put toward a new AIBO if it ever gets an official US release. Though with how little time I actually get to run my robots, maybe it's a hobby I need to get over--especially given the instability.
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*Sigh* I know what you mean. Real life is beginning to catch up with me. I am at the point in my sound-design training where I will need to put my discretionary income toward a mixer or something and a better microphone than the one I currently have.
I am also starting to realize that my dream of bringing robotics to the blind is nearly impossible- not only because of the niche market but because making the modifications to even just the apps that run them would likely be too expensive for them. I guess for now, I will just stick to pointing out areas in robot//robot-app design that could be designed more with usability for the disabled in mind and see what happens.
I will continue to release content on my channel that shows all my current workarounds, but I'm not even sure if it's worth my time to ask these companies to do something that clearly isn't going to help their market much. I hate to get all whiny here but man! It's hard to let go of this hobby. I've been in awe of robots and I've been collecting them since nineteen ninety nine when the Furby came out.
Talon
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Well, it’s truly finalized now. Originally Mayfield hoped to live on. Latest post: https://www.heykuri.com/blog/the-future-of-mayfield-robotics-kuri-home-robot/
A quote:
Since late 2017, we’ve been searching for external partners to support our future. Together with Bosch, we pursued many options for additional financial investment and long-term technology development. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement with any of the many dozens of companies we talked to. Sadly, this means that Mayfield Robotics will cease all operations by October 31st, 2018.
Our team is beyond disappointed. Together we’ve spent the past four years designing and building not just Kuri, but also an equally incredible company culture and spirit. Given this news, we’re now doing everything we can to support our team. To help to make this transition as smooth as possible, Bosch will help with severance packages and outplacement services, and our team has the option to apply to open positions at Bosch.
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RIP, Kuri. Thanks so much for trying, Mayfield Robotics! Everyone that I spoke to through email for the year that I corresponded with them were all very nice, prompt to respond, and all for whatever we needed to do to make Kuri as user-friendly as possible for those who used assistive technology.
Talon
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Received this email tonight:
Well, here we are. We’re literally shutting the doors here at Mayfield Robotics, and we are feeling it all: sadness that it’s over, happiness that it happened, and most of all, pride in our incredible team.
As you’d expect, we will not be sending emails out anymore, and you will no longer be able to email us at any of our @mayfieldrobotics.com addresses. For future communications and Kuri-related antics, here are some places to stay in touch:
You can join the Kuri Users Google Group here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/kuri-users
If you would like to receive Kuri-related announcements in the future, this is your best bet.
If you have questions about Kuri, check out the Kuri documentation at docs.freekuri.com
If your Kuri is having issues and you need help troubleshooting that isn’t covered in the documentation, please email support@freekuri.com and our volunteer community moderators will help out wherever and whenever they can (please be gentle with them, they don’t work here anymore either).
Kuri’s software is based on ROS (Robot Operating System), and as we make this transition, the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) is generously letting us use answers.ros.org and discourse.ros.org for our Kuri community to stay connected to one another.
If you have questions about Kuri's software (especially ones that other people might find interesting), please ask on answers.ros.org with the tag 'Kuri'.
If you would like to discuss Kuri-related projects, ideas, and success stories with other people in the Kuri community, please use threads in discourse.ros.org's ROS Projects category here: https://discourse.ros.org/c/ros-projects
It’s truly been an honor to have all of you along with us on this incredible adventure. We moved home robotics forward in exciting and important ways, and we can’t wait to see what happens next - both for our team, and for the entire world of robotics.
We’ll see you around. Until then: so long, and thanks for all the fish.
-The Kuri Team
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They denied my request to join the group because I don't own a Kuri. I read the e-mail as meaning it was pretty open for anyone with an interest in Kuri, but whatever.