A robotics startup called Kind Humanoid is working with designer Yves Béhar to design sophisticated humanoid robots for home care needs.
Kind unveiled Béhar’s of a humanoid robot earlier this month. Though the figure’s end effectors are recognizable as an analog to human hands, the feet are a pair of actuated joints stabilizing the bipedal bot.
The robot also has a diamond-shaped head and a small visor-like screen displaying a cloudy blue sky. The design purposefully utilizes surrealist elements as Béhar borrowed aesthetic cues from Belgian painter René Magritte.
“We use these background images of clouds to start to find ways that we can communicate the robot’s intent, or what it’s going through at the moment. Is it thinking? Is it reflecting? Is it going to give me an interesting or funny answer? This is why a face is important. The way it orients itself gives you a sense of intent and connection.” stated Béhar.
The team desired to avoid making the robot Mona appear too human-like while it functions as a home caretaker. This sets the design apart from other humanoid manufacturers whose designs are primarily targeted toward industrial settings.
“We do not intend to compete in the industrial market, because it is very crowded,” Kohstall says. “Ironically, the argument to build a humanoid is not the strongest in the industrial market. The industrial market is pretty well served in many ways by specialized robots. The humanoid becomes so beautifully potent in a setting where [there’s] diverse locomotion across stairs and cluttered environments.”
Customers for the technology could include care facilities or homes for older adults attempting to maintain their independence. After securing its most recent bout of funding, Kind’s current goal is to build an initial dozen Mona robots for field tests by early next year.
“Our team is focused on the innovation part,” Kohstall says, “and that’s not something you just solve by throwing money at it. That just requires experimentation, being capital efficient, and thoughtful.”
