A voice-controlled robot that communicates emotion and responses through a set of expressive eyes worthy of a Pixar cartoon.

The public’s fascination with robots offers an curious dichotomy, one split between a dystopian fear of a SKYNET-like takeover ushered by the awakening of artificial intelligence versus the utopian hopes of a world populated with robots safely dictated by Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics“. Neither fear nor worries are warranted at this nascent mark in robotic technologies, but if Mayfield Robotics’ Kuri is any indication, robots for the home in the near future will be brimming with emotive and charming personality.

Does anyone remember the Sony AIBO, the robotic canine companion that sold out in just 20 minutes at launch back in 1999" A few coworkers during my heydays in the video game industry nabbed one of the four-legged autonomous and articulating canines for a hefty sum, wooed by the promise of a robotic pet programmed with the interactive personality of a live (if not somewhat yappy) dog ? all without the care required to keep a real canine happy or alive. One wonders how many of those first adopters still keep and use their domestic robots. In hindsight Sony was ahead of the curve and onto something with the AIBO. As one 90s coffeeshop philosopher once remarked, “Personality goes a long way“, and the AIBO revealed a portion of the population desired robots not just as a ph...