Keecker : A rolling robot to replace your TV, stereo system, and babysitter

The field of robotics has taken a giant leap in the recent years. With the ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, a lot of controlling units can be assembled to take up less space and have some intelligence of its own, not only providing smart help but also organizing the work to a great extent.

Many new ideas have emerged recently like Palro, Paro Seal, Jibo, Origami Robot etc. and many more are on the verge on attainment. Pierre Lebeau has implemented his great design and introduced the world to Keecker robot. Keecker is a mobile computer that puts a projector and an audio system on a mobile base. Keecker has also a bunch of potentially interesting sensors. Robots are often described as utilitarian and automating man’s tasks, to us this doesn’t match Keecker. According to founder and CEO Pierre Lebeau, we really see Keecker as the evolution of computers, one that is 100 percent designed for a home or collective environment.

The Keecker looks like a modern R2D2 and it is as smart as it looks. A pioneer in the new product category, “HomePod,” is equipped with a high-power projector, seven all-around speakers, and 360-degree audio and video recording devices. The insipiration behind Keecker is an interesting story. Pierre Lebeau became extremely weary of the limitations of fixed screens and sound systems when watching movies and surfing the web. So he designed the Keecker Robot to make home life more convenient. Keecker can move and go to any room to give a kind of TV-like experience anywhere you want without the cables and the complexity. It also allows owners to keep tabs on their homes while on vacation. And because of its cameras and sensors, it can navigate from room to room without bumping into furniture. Stairs are more challenging but it’s not too clumsy for a home-inspired computer. Keecker is white and looks like a giant egg with just a camera, lamp, microphone and a button mounted over it. It looks very plain but offers a wide variety of entertainment options. It receives commands via smartphone. When brought home it moves around the house creating a map learning which room is which by name so that when summoned, it knows which room to come to.

Keecker has launched its Kickstarter with amazing discounts. Keecker’s projected retail price range is about $4,000 to $5,000. Keecker has motion sensors, WiFi, audio/video, an adjustable projection lamp, a processor, 1 terabyte of local storage and a battery that can go for several days between recharging. Its makers promise that it’s also quiet and doesn’t get hot. They also plan to release both an SDK and API in the near future. The robot will lean more the longer it “lives” in a home, and has software that prevents it from running into things. Users will also be able to call the robot to do things while they are in other rooms, such as putting on some music while the owner is preparing a meal.