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While it's clear that both Kuri and Jibo were far too expensive, I am wondering whether there is a market for a "home entertainment" robot at any price. What ar

by jpm_sd 8y ago

While it's clear that both Kuri and Jibo were far too expensive, I am wondering whether there is a market for a "home entertainment" robot at any price. What are they for?

evo_9 8y ago
Home entertainment no, and even the dubious 'security' guard angle that Kuri and Jibo had which was basically just a roaming camera keeping an on your place, not compelling enough at that price. People would pay real dollars for a home robot that did basic choirs but so far that hasn't been the focus. Maybe it's too hard of a problem to solve still, or maybe they overvalued the usefulness of an entertainment robot, or maybe it's a bit of both. I just hope this doesn't kill the dream of a truly useful home robot.
- jonathankoren 8y ago
  I own a roomba, and while I can’t say it’s great, it at least does something useful. The Alexa with wheels isn’t very compelling, because the mobility aspect doesn’t add anything. These robots don’t even have a tray to carry drinks on. From that perspective they’re less useful than a HeathKit HERO [0] or an OmniBot[1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HERO_(robot) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HERO_(robot) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibot
  - bfuller 8y ago
    I own a roomba and I do think it's great. Why dont you like it?
    - jonathankoren 8y ago
      I own two, and use them regularly. They're not a gimmick, but they do have lots of room for improvement. They're very inefficient. Perhaps the 980 with the camera is better at mapping, but my 880 and an ancient 551 feel like they take hours to clean a single room. Granted, I can do something else entirely while it wastes time, but it feels weird. (I simply take them from room to room and lock them in for an hour or two, and then move them. I don't want to waste all day with the bots cleaning my house, and I've learned I can't trust them not to get into trouble by themselves.) Also, they're not the most powerful vacuums. They're fine for regular maintenance cleaning, but they can't replace a regular vacuum. Now if only I can find a robot to dust...
chaostheory 8y ago
https://www.sphero.com/marvel/spider-man https://www.sphero.com/marvel/spider-man https://www.sphero.com/pixar/lmq https://www.sphero.com/pixar/lmq https://www.sphero.com/starwars/bb8-se https://www.sphero.com/starwars/bb8-se
xamuel 8y ago
Some pets are arguably "home entertainment robots" (gerbils, hamsters, goldfish... cats, if you ignore their mouse-chasing benefits)
- gearhart 8y ago
  Why would you ignore that... surely that's their killer app? (Sorry. Sorry.)
_rpd 8y ago
Artificial pet?
0x8BADF00D 8y ago
Mainly pets. Or perhaps as a learning aid? Kuri and Jibo failed on price point, because for their use cases Alexa or Google Home are cheaper substitutes.
pbreit 8y ago
Home seems like a tough call but I could see commercial opportunities a la Beam: https://www.suitabletech.com https://www.suitabletech.com
gusfoo 8y ago
> I am wondering whether there is a market for a "home entertainment" robot at any price. Sony's Aibo is quite pricey, but sold pretty well. And it has little functionality beyond being cute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO

by jpm_sd 8y ago

While it's clear that both Kuri and Jibo were far too expensive, I am wondering whether there is a market for a "home entertainment" robot at any price. What are they for?

evo_9 8y ago

Home entertainment no, and even the dubious 'security' guard angle that Kuri and Jibo had which was basically just a roaming camera keeping an on your place, not compelling enough at that price. People would pay real dollars for a home robot that did basic choirs but so far that hasn't been the focus. Maybe it's too hard of a problem to solve still, or maybe they overvalued the usefulness of an entertainment robot, or maybe it's a bit of both. I just hope this doesn't kill the dream of a truly useful home robot.

jonathankoren 8y ago
I own a roomba, and while I can’t say it’s great, it at least does something useful. The Alexa with wheels isn’t very compelling, because the mobility aspect doesn’t add anything. These robots don’t even have a tray to carry drinks on. From that perspective they’re less useful than a HeathKit HERO [0] or an OmniBot[1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HERO_(robot) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HERO_(robot) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibot
- bfuller 8y ago
  I own a roomba and I do think it's great. Why dont you like it?
  - jonathankoren 8y ago
    I own two, and use them regularly. They're not a gimmick, but they do have lots of room for improvement. They're very inefficient. Perhaps the 980 with the camera is better at mapping, but my 880 and an ancient 551 feel like they take hours to clean a single room. Granted, I can do something else entirely while it wastes time, but it feels weird. (I simply take them from room to room and lock them in for an hour or two, and then move them. I don't want to waste all day with the bots cleaning my house, and I've learned I can't trust them not to get into trouble by themselves.) Also, they're not the most powerful vacuums. They're fine for regular maintenance cleaning, but they can't replace a regular vacuum. Now if only I can find a robot to dust...

chaostheory 8y ago

https://www.sphero.com/marvel/spider-man https://www.sphero.com/marvel/spider-man https://www.sphero.com/pixar/lmq https://www.sphero.com/pixar/lmq https://www.sphero.com/starwars/bb8-se https://www.sphero.com/starwars/bb8-se

xamuel 8y ago

Some pets are arguably "home entertainment robots" (gerbils, hamsters, goldfish... cats, if you ignore their mouse-chasing benefits)

gearhart 8y ago
Why would you ignore that... surely that's their killer app? (Sorry. Sorry.)

_rpd 8y ago

Artificial pet?

0x8BADF00D 8y ago

Mainly pets. Or perhaps as a learning aid? Kuri and Jibo failed on price point, because for their use cases Alexa or Google Home are cheaper substitutes.

pbreit 8y ago

Home seems like a tough call but I could see commercial opportunities a la Beam: https://www.suitabletech.com https://www.suitabletech.com

gusfoo 8y ago

> I am wondering whether there is a market for a "home entertainment" robot at any price. Sony's Aibo is quite pricey, but sold pretty well. And it has little functionality beyond being cute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO