Kuri just wanted to watch your children play.
The roving surveillance bot, unveiled last year at CES, was billed as the first home robot that could actually catch on with consumers around the country. What with its unassuming — even "cute" — design and ability to autonomously decide to film people and pets in your home, Kuri represented a stark departure from the blind robo-murder dogs we have all grown to regard with caution.
SEE ALSO:This 'blind' robot dog is great for hunting you on a moonless nightAlas, nothing gold can stay: Mayfield Robotics, Kuri's manufacturer and part of the Bosch Startup Platform, announced today that things weren't looking so hot for the 14-pound robot.
"Sadly, our Kuri manufacturing will cease, and the Kuri robots that have been made will not ship to customers," the manufacturer said in a company press release. "All pre-order deposits will be refunded to our customers."
This is a shocking turnabout for Kuri, which was initially hailed by a prominent tech blog as possibly one day "[replacing] your little brother as the cutest member of your family."
So what went wrong? Are people just not interested in having a camera equipped, four-microphone stocked, mini robot following them around their homes, recording their every move?
Goodbye.Credit: MAYFIELD ROBOTICSDefinitely not, insists Mayfield Robotics. You see, it's not that people prefer jogging death-bots, it's that there was a problem with, uh, "business fit." Yeah, business fit, that sounds right.
"From the beginning, we have been constantly looking for the best paths to achieve scale and continue to advance our innovative technology," the press release continued. "Typically, startups in the Bosch Startup Platform are integrated into existing Bosch business units, but after extensive review, there was not a business fit within Bosch to support and scale our business."
So there you have it. In the end, Kuri's stated cause of death wasn't a lack of consumer interest or a failure to get the tech right. Instead, the ignoble end of a rather ignoble creature was the inability to figure out how to wrap the product into the larger business conglomerate that is Bosch.
Maybe Kuri's designers should have also made it combat-ready? There will alway be a market for that.
(责任编辑：熱點)
Visualizing July's astounding global temperature records
How wireless emergency alerts work
GoPro finally shows off its foldable Karma drone, and it's super sleek
Jimmy Kimmel at the Emmys: Dos and Don'ts
Donald Trump's tangled web of Russian influenceThis coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
LONDON -- We are living through the golden age of celebrity relationships. Gone are the days of tort
...[详细]Woman in a burkini: What it's like to be forced to leave a French beach
The sight of burkini-wearing women getting kicked off French beaches by police became a point for im
...[详细]GoPro finally shows off its foldable Karma drone, and it's super sleek
SQUAW VALLEY, CA -- After over a year of teases, GoPro has finally unveiled its Karma drone, which w
...[详细]Badass women in Iran share why they're ignoring a new fatwa against cycling
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa on women riding bicycles Monday, but t
...[详细]Amazon's Echo made controlling music with your voice easy-peasy, but its sound quality could be a lo
...[详细]Samsung hit with lawsuit over exploding Galaxy Note7, report says
The reports of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones have resulted in a massive recall. But for
...[详细]Alligators may not have changed much in 8 million years
The species of alligator roaming Florida's swamps and golf courses may be millions of years older th
...[详细]How wireless emergency alerts work
If you live in or close to New York City, your cellphone likely made a strange sound at about 8 a.m.
...[详细]One of the first Apple computers ever made is currently up for auction.A rare "Celebration" Apple-1
...[详细]Nothing to see here, just a tiger strolling along an Australian beach
Imagine it -- hitting the beach in Queensland, Australia for a quick surf, only to come across a fre
...[详细]Ivanka Trump's unpaid interns share cringeworthy financial advice
4 ways to save without your savings account
