Topic: Kuri (Read 3505 times)

Talon · « **Reply #25 on:** December 28, 2017, 08:41:09 AM »

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

Bardian · « **Reply #26 on:** January 06, 2018, 06:49:23 AM »

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.

Bardian · « **Reply #27 on:** January 08, 2018, 12:22:35 PM »

Against my better judgment, I preordered one today. I will post when it finally arrives.

Talon · « **Reply #28 on:** January 12, 2018, 06:49:17 PM »

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

Pennys mum · « **Reply #29 on:** January 31, 2018, 10:28:42 AM »

I am surprised too that no reviews or videos are emerging for this robot.
[/quote]

Ditto. Strange.

Bardian · « **Reply #30 on:** January 31, 2018, 06:01:56 PM »

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.

Talon · « **Reply #31 on:** February 03, 2018, 08:39:41 AM »

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

Bardian · « **Reply #32 on:** February 03, 2018, 04:22:43 PM »

Quote from: Talon on February 03, 2018, 08:39:41 AM

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.

Talon · « **Reply #33 on:** February 05, 2018, 10:39:42 AM »

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

Bardian · « **Reply #34 on:** February 05, 2018, 11:51:10 AM »

Quote from: Talon on February 05, 2018, 10:39:42 AM

*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.

Pennys mum · « **Reply #35 on:** February 28, 2018, 01:48:17 AM »

There’s a new video of Keri
https://youtu.be/aUPd-aEGlA0

Talon · « **Reply #36 on:** February 28, 2018, 10:10:04 AM »

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

Bardian · « **Reply #37 on:** February 28, 2018, 10:25:26 AM »

Quote from: Talon on February 28, 2018, 10:10:04 AM

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!

Bardian · « **Reply #38 on:** March 02, 2018, 12:09:19 PM »

The website now says preorders are for Summer 2018... hopefully that means the Spring shipment will be soon-ish!

Bardian · « **Reply #39 on:** March 02, 2018, 01:44:28 PM »

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.

Talon · « **Reply #40 on:** March 02, 2018, 03:28:57 PM »

Oh wicked! What an opportunity! I could do so much with this! *Waves hands in excitement* Let me get to brainstorming!
Talon

Bardian · « **Reply #41 on:** March 06, 2018, 07:36:25 PM »

A new insightful post about Kuri vision: https://blog.heykuri.com/kuri-vision-how-kuri-captures-moments/

Talon · « **Reply #42 on:** March 08, 2018, 09:10:57 AM »

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

Bardian · « **Reply #43 on:** March 08, 2018, 11:59:26 AM »

I received a delivery update today:

Quote

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.

Bardian · « **Reply #44 on:** March 08, 2018, 07:26:00 PM »

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.

Talon · « **Reply #45 on:** March 09, 2018, 12:13:33 PM »

*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

Bardian · « **Reply #46 on:** March 09, 2018, 01:57:06 PM »

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.

Talon · « **Reply #47 on:** March 09, 2018, 03:12:15 PM »

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

Talon · « **Reply #48 on:** March 09, 2018, 08:28:24 PM »

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

Bardian · « **Reply #49 on:** March 10, 2018, 06:21:24 AM »

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.

Bob the Pleo Forums

Author Topic: Kuri (Read 3505 times)