Indian consumer electronics start-up Emotix has announced the Miko 2 – a personal robot for children. The dainty little automated robot aims to help modern parents in early education and development of children. The Miko 2 robot will be available for purchase for an asking price of Rs 24,999 across all Hamleys India stores.
The Miko 2 is Emotix’s second effort towards a companion robot, the first of which was launched earlier last year. The robot can see, hear, sense, express, talk, recognise faces, remember names, identify moods, initiate a conversation and learn from its own environment to intuitively develop a bond with the child. While its predecessor required a smartphone to operate, the Miko 2 only needs a one-time Wi-Fi set-up.
There’s a new HD camera that does face recognition while the inbuilt microphones can listen to voice commands through active noise cancellation. The EDGE Sensors save the robot from falling off edges such as tables and stairs and there’s a Time of Flight sensor that will allow the robot to better sense the surroundings and make decisions likewise.
Additionally, the Miko 2 will allow third-party content players to publish their content on its platform. The robot already features Amar Chitra Katha stories, ICSE curriculum and other educational add-ons. It also comes with Specially designed games, riddles, fun facts, rhymes to impart playful learning for the child. There’s an advanced parental control dashboard that can help track and guide the child’s interaction with Miko 2.
The highlight of the unveiling was the TeleConnect feature which allows a parent to do “video calling on wheels” through Miko from any corner of the world. The innovative robot has guaranteed age-appropriate content, child-safe design and strict privacy norms to address any data breach concerns.
The launch of the Miko 2 was graced by well-known names including famous celebrity, author Soha Ali Khan, veteran child psychologist Mona Gajre, IITB Professor Emeritus C. Amarnath as well as the virtual presence of Nasscomm President Debjani Ghosh.
Speaking about their latest product, emotix CEO, Sneh Rajkumar Vaswani said “We are super excited to unveil Miko 2 which has been engineered for global consumers with respect to content, design and cultural connect. Our first product Miko, India’s first companion robot was created by a multidisciplinary team comprising engineers, mathematicians, artists, neuropsychologists. The product had received a very encouraging feedback from young parents and it was a great learning experience. And therefore, emotix is creating a global opportunity in the personal robotics space, which is ripe for innovation in the areas of education, healthcare, entertainment, health care, and defence, among others”.
The Emotix Miko 2 will be available in India for an asking price of Rs 24,999 at all Hamleys India stores from December 15th, 2018 to January 15th, 2019, after which it’ll be readily available across all leading consumer electronics and toy stores.