Mint Primer | Honey, I’m home: Is this the era of domestic robots?

Can you tell us about the robots at CES?

Sure! The interesting picks include a bartender named ‘Adam’ from Richtech Robotics, an infant—replicating social interaction robot called ‘Mirumi’, ChatGPT-backed personal assistant ‘Looi’ by Tangible Future, a near-humanoid home assistant ‘Mirokai’ by Enchanted Tools, home-chores assistant R2D3 by OpenDroids, autonomous lamp ‘Mi-Mo’ by Jizai, and even a projector robot named ‘Ballie’ by Samsung. Most are designed to serve tasks that humans do through the day, and each showcases not just automation—but also a degree of interactiveness that was previously largely kept only for concepts.

Are they any different from their ancestors?

Very much so. For starters, one of the biggest factors in this year’s showcase of robots at CES 2025 is the level of interactions that many of these bots can pull off. For instance, Mirokai features an animated face and looks nearly humanoid—and can be programmed to interact with you, or even be taught any task based on an ‘if-this-then-that’ logic. With generative AI models powering actions such as speech and interaction on robots, most of these robots are now better prepared to feature inside homes since they are no longer functional machines and appliances built for a specific task.

Can I buy these robots already?

Mirumi is slated to retail soon at $70. Looi, meanwhile, is already available at $169, while the Mi-Mo lamp robot’s retail price starts at $3,500. The full-scale humanoids are more expensive, with Mirokai and R2D3 priced at $40,000 and $60,000 respectively. But, they can be purchased this year—meaning that robots are no longer concept showcases.

Why have robot sales not picked up yet?

The reality of a robot at home helping with chores is new. So far, most robots were based on instructional algorithms, so they could only do predefined tasks. They also lacked natural speech. With AI, robots are becoming more mature. India has very few choices. The Miko range of robots, meant solely for kids, has a limited feature-set. Emo, marketed as a personal assistant, has very limited utility and flexibility of movement. The global market, however, is tipped to grow at nearly 20% annually within this decade.

Is AI a key factor in boosting adoption?

Yes. Most new robots showcased at CES 2025 bet on generative AI to improve interaction with humans. Soon, natural language processing algorithms will render voice commands and responses akin to human reactions. Updates to this year’s robots could make them even better. Experts told Mint that in the next five years, fields such as robotic concierge and home assistants of varying forms are likely to become available in the mainstream markets in India too. With expanding scale and markets, prices are also likely to decline.