“What does it mean to be kind?”
There’s no correct response to the question, and for that reason it can be a hard one to answer. Because how do you succinctly explain kindness to someone, let alone a robot?
The person asking that question isn’t a person at all. It’s Moxie, a short-in-stature robot with a luminescent screen displaying an emotive face. In a recent demo via Zoom video call with Built In, Moxie asked this question to Paolo Pirjanian, the founder and CEO of Embodied, the Pasadena-based robotics startup that created Moxie.
Watching the interaction unfold is a bit like watching man question his maker about what it means to be alive. But Pirjanian delivers a quick answer and moves on. As someone who’s been working on Moxie for the past few years, Pirjanian knows the robot in and out, and he was eager to show off everything else Moxie can do: tell jokes, read books, draw and more.
But there’s a purpose behind Moxie’s showing off. Embodied created Moxie as a robotic companion to help children learn social, cognitive and emotional skills. Originally designed as an educational tool for young children with autism, Moxie was capturing the hearts of children outside of its target demographic in several test programs. Now, the company is ready to think bigger.
After spending four years and about $20 million in VC funding perfecting Moxie, Embodied is taking its creation to market with a product launch announced Tuesday.
What makes Moxie different from other robots is its advanced ability to engage in natural interactions. Pirjanian points out that plenty of robots copy the Alexa or Google Assistant model, where they operate using a command-based interface. Other robots, like Softbank’s Pepper, rely on a tablet as a fail-safe in case people get stuck.
Moxie uses natural language processing along with advanced artificial intelligence and deep learning to have more authentic interactions. The robot will respond appropriately to both positive and negative interactions (like if you tell it you didn’t think its joke was funny). It recognizes breaks in conversations and will fill awkward silences with questions or a new activity prompt. And it also has a camera with built-in facial recognition so it can read your expressions or tell if you are making eye contact.
“We’re at a tipping point in the way we will interact with technology,” Pirjanian said in a statement provided to Built In. “Moxie is a new type of robot that has the ability to understand and express emotions with emotive speech, believable facial expressions and body language, tapping into human psychology and neurology to create deeper bonds.”
Moxie assigns children educational activities in the form of daily missions. These are usually centered around a specific theme or lesson plan, and it is a source of seemingly endless conversation due to its access to a cloud-based library of content. This content is frequently updated through a monthly membership that comes with Moxie. Parents can check to see what lessons are planned via the Moxie Parent App, where they’ll also be able to track certain stats and measure progress. Parents can also use templates to have Moxie talk about upcoming real-life events, like a trip to the dentist or first day of school.
Moxie was built with the parenting trend of limited screen time in mind. Embodied found that children spend an average of 30 to 45 minutes a day with the robot, so they programmed it to get tired after around 45 minutes of use and go to sleep. That way children won’t get too sucked into their interactions with their artificial buddy.
Embodied plans to sell Moxie to families later this year. Interested customers can reserve Moxie on the Embodied website with a refundable deposit to get access to its pre-order launch, which is slated for August. The company says that Moxie will cost about $1,500 and compares its price to a premium smartphone. This price includes the robot itself as well as a year of service and access to its apps.
The company says the first shipment of Moxies will ship out to customers some time in early fall of 2020.
In the meantime, Embodied is currently accepting applications for kids interested in trying out the robot via the Moxie Pioneer Mentor Program. Through this program, families can try Moxie for free, and help the robot learn how to become a better teacher.
