consumer robot – Robohub

Robotics trending towards the consumer

Andra Keay — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:17:40 +0000

Berg's Little Printer - another 'appliance with attitude'

Robotics is trending towards the consumer. We’re on a journey towards ‘appliances with attitude’ that started with the now ubiquitous GPS and smartphone technology. These are some of the underlying trends in robotics in the Valley, and elsewhere, that will enable the emergence of single purpose lifestyle consumer robots, like Autom, the robot weightloss coach:

increase in funding for robotics, both industrial and consumer (eg. Double Robotics, Y Combinator applications, Grishin Robotics, PCH International, Lemnos Labs, Haxlr8tr and the success of consumer electronics on kickstarter generally).
invisible robots – robotic technologies being incorporated into many devices without our explicit knowledge – we now expect smart devices to respond to our commands – in our vehicles, our homes and our workspaces – we now expect to have a range of interfaces to communicate/control devices.
smart phones etc – almost everyone carries around a small computer these days.
increased connectivity – not simply cloud and internet although that’s big too – those pocket computers can be really effective when they can wirelessly connect to devices around us – pocket robot controllers allowing for cheaper, smaller robotic devices.
increased outsourcing of sensors and intelligence, not just computing power, into our daily lives via the devices around us will allow robots to work for us in more useful ways.

Finally, coming over the horizon is the huge potential for new forms of visible robots (using technology trends like ‘soft bodied robotics’) which do things we haven’t really thought of yet. The democratization of robotics technology means that robotics is no longer the preserve of military and industrial applications.

Robots are becoming more affordable for the long tail of niche applications in the consumer space. That robotics is finally trickling into the consumer space opens Pandora’s box on all the things that robots might be able to do that haven’t had a large enough proven market to warrant investment in the research and development.

Combined with the emerging maker movement, we are entering an age of consumer robotics products and components which can be customized for new use cases on demand. This trend towards ‘bespoke robotics’ is going to catalyze increasingly viable commercial development of robotics components and interfaces.

One end of this is going to be the home vehicle modification space, where aftermarket robotic accessories will enable people to add sensors, collision avoidance mechanisms, auto park etc as aftermarket. This is a highly regulated space, but one in which a huge market is clear.

At the other end of this is the fashion industry, rather than the health industry, which will be comparatively unregulated but incredibly creative and fast moving. Think of FitBitz on steroids. Literally. What if I want my clothing to change color when my mood changes. What if I want my clothing to become armor in a collision/violence situation. What if I want my clothing to send messages to me or my friends when we are proximate. What if I want my clothing to act as an exercise machine and provide resistance. Or the opposite, can I engage additional strength to help me lift objects, my shopping bags etc.

Having rhapsodized about a future that is still someways off, I’d like to close by saying that for me the robot achievement of 2012 isn’t Baxter from Rethink Robotics. It’s Autom, the robot weightloss coach now on sale, by Cory Kidd and Intuitive Automata.

2010 marked the emergence of crowdfunding for internet of things and consumer devices. 2011 was the year of smartphone robots. 2012 has seen the consolidation these trends into funded startups with strong retail markets (eg Orbotix, Romotive) and the emergence of a new genre of consumer robot – the lifestyle robot.

As a consumer, I’m absolutely willing to buy a robot (or smart device) that helps me achieve lifestyle goals, as long as it’s affordable (<$500), easy to interface with (voice/touch/smartphone) and does one thing well.

We’d all love to have a general purpose household robot but Rosie Jetson just isn’t ready yet. I’m happy to have several small affordable robots that do just one thing well. One to vacuum, one to fold clothes, one to help me lose weight.

You could say that these are just appliances, and that would be correct. But the research behind Autom confirms that people like to interact with embodied devices that can engage in a social relationship with us. I see the future of robotics as ‘appliances with attitude’.

Robot startup series #1: Autom and Cory Kidd

Andra Keay — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:45:28 +0000

Consumer robotics had a watershed moment just a few days ago, when Autom, the robot weightloss coach, was launched at Dublin Web Summit. I’m very excited to open our Robot Startup Series with an interview with Dr Cory Kidd, the founder of Intuitive Automata and maker of Autom, which is now being produced by PCH International.

Autom was originally Cory’s PHD research at MIT, which he then moved an accelerator in Hong Kong. Most recently Cory has been travelling the globe to secure Autom’s Series A funding. And as a Robot Launchpad startup, Cory has offered to share his experience of the gruelling process from prototype to production. This interview was recorded just before Autom’s funding was finally finalized.

Also, stay tuned for an update to the interview, post funding!

Intuitive Automata introduction
Intuitive Automata creates interactive coaches for helping people better manage long-term health issues. We address one of the biggest challenges in health care: getting patients to adhere to a medical or health regimen. The technology is based on research by Dr. Kidd, our founder and CEO, that showed the efficacy of interactive robots at engaging a person over time and successfully conveying information to them. He is joined by Bill McCord, our CTO who has over a decade of experience in commercial software development and has created the software on the robot and the back end.

Our platform has been shown to be signiﬁcantly more effective at engaging a patient over an extended period of time, allowing them to better adhere to a treatment regimen as compared to web, computer, and mobile applications. The advanced interaction algorithms that are drawn from psychology, medicine, and human-robot interaction are proven to be more engaging and effective at conveying information to the patient than screen-based systems. We are building an API that allows us to license this core technology out to other companies while at the same time leveraging it as the main component of our products. The physical nature of our weight combined with these algorithms has been shown to be more effective at keeping dieters engaged and has gained us early customers that include some of the largest US health insurance companies, hospital and provider networks, and employers.

Autom
Autom is an interactive robotic weight loss coach that has been shown to be more effective at keeping a dieter engaged than any existing weight loss program. Using proprietary AI algorithms that create a daily interactive conversation between the coach and the user, Autom is able to create and maintain a long-term relationship.

Developed by Intuitive Automata, the theories behind Autom were created by Dr. Cory Kidd as part of his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab. He also worked closely with a leading medical weight loss expert, Dr. Caroline Apovian of Boston University Medical Center’s Nutrition and Weight Management Clinic, who remains medical advisor to the company.

Kidd Biography

Dr. Cory Kidd is the founder and CEO of Intuitive Automata, a health care technology company that creates interactive coaches to help people address the challenges of making lasting change. Dr. Kidd received his M.S. and Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab in human-robot interaction, a new field combining robotics, artificial intelligence, and psychology, among other disciplines. While there, he conducted studies that showed the advantages of using a physical robot over screen-based interactions. He also conducted an extensive study showing the efficacy of his weight loss coach in helping people to diet and did work in local nursing homes with robotic companions for elderly individuals.

Prior to his work at MIT, Dr. Kidd received his BS in Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. While there he was a part of the Aware Home Research Initiative, a focused research effort that was looking for ways to allow older people to live in their homes longer. He managed the research project and taught courses on related technologies.

Hexy the Hexapod on Kickstarter

John Payne — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:50:41 +0000

Hexy the Hexapod is a Kickstarter project to fund production of an affordable hexapod design by Arcbotics. The $13000 minimum goal has already been met, but there are higher goals for the addition of a drag-and-drop programming GUI ($200K), and for the addition of Android and iOS control apps ($250K). You can get a custom-parts-only kit (no servos or electronics) for a pledge of $80. For a pledge of $200, you can get a complete kit without Bluetooth; add another $20 for a kit with Bluetooth. $400 gets you an assembled Hexy without Bluetooth; again add another $20 to have Bluetooth included. (via GeekBeat.tv)