emotix, the maker, says Miko 2 can see, hear, sense, express, talk, recognise faces, remember names, identify moods and initiate a conversation
Indian consumer electronics start-up emotix unveiled its latest offering, Miko 2, a personal robot for children, in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The company says the idea behind the robot is to help modern parents in early education and development of children by engaging the child in “playful learning.”
Miko 2 can initiate and hold long conversations with kids, imparting knowledge based on academic curriculum and general facts about the world, the company claims.
The system is powered by a proprietary emotional intelligence engine developed in-house by emotix, which enables the robot to not only identify and remember the child’s moods but also adapt to their personality. A child can talk to the robot directly through voice commands.
The India price of Miko 2 is Rs 24,999.
Upgrade from earlier 1.0 version
Miko 2 is an upgraded version of the company’s previous offering, Miko, India’s first companion robot. While the 1.0 version required a smartphone to operate, the new version requires a one-time Wi-Fi set-up that can be done through the Miko 2 app.
Miko 2 is equipped with a new HD camera that can recognize faces. It can hear through active noise cancellation microphones and has edge sensors to save it from falling off edges.
The upgraded version also comes with a “Time of Flight” sensor that enables the robot to better sense the surroundings and make decisions likewise. In addition to all the upgrades, Miko 2 has a better battery life and improved display and sound quality compared to the earlier version, as per the company.
The main highlight of the robot is the TeleConnect feature which allows a parent to do “video calling on wheels” through Miko from any corner of the world.
The product will be exclusively available across all Hamleys India stores from December 15, 2018 to January 15, 2019. Later, the company will make it available across all leading consumer electronic and toy stores.
Miko 2 platform opened to third party content players
emotix has decided to open up the platform of Miko 2 to allow third party content players to publish their content on it and reach out to users of the robot.
“While the company will release the formal SDK in 1Q2019, some of the leading content players of India have already integrated their content on Miko 2,” says Sneh Rajkumar Vaswani, co-founder and CEO, emotix.
From stories to academic curriculum to specially designed games, riddles, fun facts, rhymes, music and dance – all are readily available on Miko 2. It also has an advanced parental control dashboard that can help track and guide the child’s interaction with Miko 2.
Creating a global presence in personal robotics space
Miko 2 has been engineered for global consumers, says Vaswani, adding that the company plans to penetrate global markets across US, Europe, China and Middle East in a phased manner through 2019.
Emotix assures that the innovative robot has guaranteed age-appropriate content, child-safe design and strict privacy norms to address any data breach concerns.
“Our aim is to create machines on human patterns and blur the distinction between physical, digital and biological walls to solve grave consumer problems. Miko 2, is an affirmation of our commitment to make learning powerful yet fun and simple,” concludes Vaswani.
