Beginning at NYU in Jan 2013 within the context of a Patents Translation course delivered online, this blog seeks to uncover the patents that rock our daily lives....
The Norwegian start-up, 1X, backed by Open AI, released its first bipedal, humanoid housekeeper robot, on April 30th, 2026. The robot’s name is Neo.
As an interactive, residential home assistant, Neo is intended to automate household tasks. Tasks programmed for Neo to autonomously execute, such as cleaning, fetching (eg., a glass of water), loading and unloading the dishwasher, answering the front door, vacuuming, taking out the trash, unloading packages from a car trunk, cracking walnuts, plus more. Indeed, almost any task you can think of, since Noe learns by watching.
For Neo to learn the new complex tasks, you might schedule a 1X Expert Mode Session, where a remote company technician walks Neo through all the new tasks—in Virtual Reality, using Neo’s camera eyes. A process that raises controversy, considering that the remote technician, or anyone else, is gaining access, through the robot's camera eyes, to the inside of your home, during the expert session. To which 1X responds: "You have to be OK with this, for the product to be useful."
The video below shows some of what Neo is capable of doing.
Neo robots are produced at a 58,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, California. The first vertically integrated humanoid factory, plus 200 workers. In other words, this facility produces everything, from raw materials to finished robot, including motors, sensors, batteries and structural transmission system. The company plans to ship 10,000 robots in 2026, the first year of operations, and then scale to 100,000 robots in 2027. Neo costs 20,000 USD or 499 USD per month. You can order one with a 200 USD deposit.
My Special Aflac Duck®, a plush, Bluetooth®-connected social robot, masterminded by Sproutel Inc., was designed to help small children express their feelings, when they are undergoing cancer treatment. Children simply select one of several emoji cards that best matches the way they are feeling (sad, calm, scared, sick, silly…), and hold it up for the Aflac Duck® to see (and scan). The Aflac Duck® then responds to the feeling (in duck language), also moving its beak and head.
In addition to facilitating communication in families, coping with the new normal of a cancer diagnosis, the Aflac Duck® also has a series of medical play accessories for simulated activities. For example, medical play accessories include: a pulse oximeter, a syringe, a stethoscope, and a connected IV play set, enabling children to attach a port-o-cath accessory, in order to treat the duck with chemotherapy. As for previous Sproutel pediatric toys, such as Jerry the Bear™, which offers pediatric patients an opportunity to practice mastering the simulated medical procedures associated with the treatment of Type 1 diabetes, the assumption informing the design of the company’s toys is that, in caring for their toy, children also learn to understand their own disease and treatment. Thus, Sproutel toys offer an educational experience, delivered without a curriculum. An educational experience intended to be fun, designed to comfort, and to reduce fear and anxiety.
Beyond facilitating communication, and offering simulated medical play experiences, related to the treatment of cancer, theAflac Duck® comprises the following additional features and functions:
Removable fur, so that the Aflac Duck®’s coat is machine-washable.
Sensitivity to surroundings, such as for example, sensitivity to dark, which prompts the Aflac Duck® to quieten down; or sensitivity to music, which prompts the Aflac Duck® to dance.
Sensitivity to touch, which prompts the Aflac Duck® to respond to tickling. The Aflac Duck® also has a heartbeat that children can feel.
Additional food accessory cards, with which children can also prepare a meal for their special toy. In this case, the accessory food cards are held up to the Aflac Duck®’s beak for pretend feeding (and scanning).
Soothing Soundscape™ card accessories, enabling to transport children, with music, to places like the forest, or the ocean.
Finally, a wake-up function, considering that when the Aflac Duck® is tired, it naps, and is awakened when children squeeze its tail.
The various aspects of the Aflac Duck® invention are recited in three concurrent US utility patent applications. For example the US utility patent application US20190209933A1, titled Child's Toy with Removable Skin recites the machine-washable aspect as the duck's coat, whereas the US utility patent application US20190209935A1, titled Animatronic toy recites the movement of the robotic toy, and the US utility patent application US20190209932A1, titled User Interface for an Animatronic Toy, recites interactions between the toy, its users, another Aflac Duck®, and/or a Bluetooth®-connected mobile device.
Below, the patent Figures 1 and 2, extracted from the user interface patent application, US20190209932A1, together with an image of the embodied toy, marketed as My Special Aflac Duck®. Specifically, the Figures 1 and 2 respectively depict the duck, with and without its skin. The Figure 1 drawing shows the animatronic toy embodied as a duck 100, comprising eyes 110, a beak 115, wings 120 and feet 125, as well as a sensor 130, which may be of various sorts, causing the duck to respond in a variety of ways.
The Figure 2 drawing of the toy 100, with skin removed, further depicts the various sorts of sensors, comprising in particular five capacitive sensors 200, located on the duck's wings, side of the head, and back. Once activated thecapacitive sensors 200 are designed tocause the duck to vibrate, using one of more vibration motors located within the duck, and/or to make nuzzling sounds like a pet. Two button sensors 210 are also depicted, which are used respectively to wake the duck from sleep or nap, and to trigger or detect a Bluetooth® connection, or interaction, with another toy. The vibrational speaker 230, on top of the duck's head, also enables the duck to vibrate, and to respond to the emoji cards. A radio frequency ID (RFiD) sensor 225,located on the chest of the toy, enables the duck to read and detect the RFiD tagged emoji cards 400, brought in contact with the sensor. Once detected, the RFiD sensor 225 triggers a program, which will cause the duck to respond. For example, the duck might giggle, when contacted with a tagged happy emoji card. Alternatively, the duck might cry, when contacted with a sad emoji card.
The abstract for the user interface patent applicationUS20190209932A1, is included below.
An animatronic doll is disclosed. The doll, includes multiple sensors, one or more of which receives input which causes the doll to perform various functions such as moving, vibrating, playing music, eating, interacting with a mobile app or interacting with another doll. The doll also includes various modes which may be effected or selected based on input from one or more sensors. One of the sensors may include an rfid reader which reads cards that instruct the doll to emulate a particular emotion.
My Special Aflac Duck® was selected by Time Magazine as one of the 50 best inventions in 2018. The toy also received numerous additional accolades (1). Most importantly, the insurance company Aflac distributes My Special Aflac Duck®, free-of-charge, to children diagnosed with cancer.
The distinctive-looking
features of the Starship Technologies delivery robots are filed in a
series of Canadian Industrial Design Registrations at the Canadian Industrial
Property Office (CIPO), per the provisions of the Canadian Industrial Design Act.
Industrial Design Registration in
Canada, protects the way an object looks, in contrast to the way the object
works, what it is made of, or how it is made. Protection may be obtained for
the whole finished product, or parts of it, for a period of up to 15 years.
For example, the following Canadian Industrial
Design Registration CA167756 protects the
ornamental features of the Starship Technologies delivery robots. The Figure 5 photo, on file as part of this Canadian Industrial Design Registration CA167756, is included below.
In response to the surge of online commerce, especially during the cautious re-opening of the economy, following the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, Starship robots are delivering contactless
parcels, medicines, groceries, and take-out food. Deliveries that include
temperature-sensitive items, both piping hot and freezing cold. The Starship Technologies utility
patent US10005609B1, titledDevice and system for insulating items during delivery by a
mobile robot, addresses the problems of spillage, stain
and/or persistent odor of the prior art of food delivery insulation and
storage. Prior art that consisted in insulated
compartment walls with various layers of insulation materials, alternatively
the insertion of gel packs into indentations of the storage compartment walls.
The
inventive solution disclosed in the Starship Technologies patent consists in a
removable insulated bag, designed to reduce heat exchange inside the robot’s
payload compartment. The removable bag has a 50 to 80-liter capacity. The bag
“fits snuggly”, vs. sealed, into the robot’s payload compartment. It is
secured to the compartment, and the robot lid, with Velcro (preferably),
alternatively with tape, snaps, button fasteners or suction cups, so that when
the robot lid is unlocked and opened, the insulated bag is also opened.
The
insulated bag has several advantages. It protects the robot’s electronics
from spills. It is also removable for washing and sanitation, thereby
preventing odors, stains and potential microbiological hazards. The insulated
bag may optionally be designed with several horizontal or vertical, separating
walls to compartmentalize the contents transported. For example, the bag
compartments might be used to separate drinks from food, in view of preventing
exchanges between liquids and solids, in addition to promoting thermal
insulation between items.
The
insulated bag is made of an inner layer, and a preferably detachable/removable outer
layer. The bag inner layer, measuring preferably between 4 to 6 mm, may comprise foam-insulating material, aerogel, air or vacuum-based insulation, providing a
thermal conductivity k-value, ranging between 0.03 to 0.05 W/mK. The bag outer layer, made of polymer material, such as polyamide or polyester, is
hydrophobic, in case of spills The outer layer of the insulated bag, preferably secured via a zipper,
is also removable to facilitate regular cleaning.
Additionally, the bags may comprise an intermediate layer, comprising material with a high reflectance
coefficient (e.g., a foil or aluminum laminate) designed to reduce radiative
heat transfer between the bag cavity and ambient surroundings. In some
embodiments the Starship insulation bags also comprise insulated flaps that fold to open and close, adding an extra layer of insulation
where the lid meets with the bag cavity, at a juncture that is particularly
vulnerable to heat exchange with ambient surroundings.
In general,
temperature exchange will vary according to such factors as the thickness and
type of bag insulating materials, ambient temperature, and the mass of the
temperature-sensitive items transported. Roughly, the thicker the insulating
material, the lower the temperature exchange, ideally between 1 and 5◦
C, over a period of 30 minutes. Thus, the Starship robot insulated bags come in two
thicknesses, which are each used, depending on the delivery turnaround, and the
temperature sensitivity of the items transported.
The payload
compartment might also comprise heating or cooling elements, secured to the
bags. Likewise, the payload compartment might also be equipped with one or
several sensors. Preferably two sensors are included, one to detect the compartment
temperature, the other to detect the compartment humidity. The sensors are thus designed to enable the monitoring of temperature-sensitive items, in view of guaranteeing that the items
retain their temperatures during the last-mile delivery process.
The abstract
of the invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 3.
The patent Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the insulated
bag 1 for transportation of items within its cavity 26,
fitted inside a rigid compartment, or bin 100, within the
mobile Starship robot 1000. The
rigid compartment 100 is recited as an additional barrier
between the robot’s electronics and the payload, serving as extra protection against
spillage, while also preventing customers from accessing the robot's electronics. The bin 100,
with insulated bag attached 1, might also be used to store the payload in a Starship Robovan (mothership), before
loading into the mobile Starship robot 1000 for delivery. The
patent Figure 3 further depicts the mobile Starship robot body or frame 1010,with
6 wheels 1020,adapted for land use, especially
pedestrian walkways. The patent figure 3 also depicts the
insulated bag lid 4, secured to the mobile robotlid 1040 with
a securing element 40, leaving some space between the inner
surface 1042 of the robot lid, and the outer surface of
the insulated bag 44. The insulated bag 1 is also depicted with
flaps 6, providing extra insulation from ambient conditions at the
juncture between the lid 1040, and the mobile robot body 1010.
A corresponding image of the marketed mobile Starship robot, with its lid open, showing
the insulated bag, is also included below.
An insulated bag reduces heat exchange between temperature-sensitive items and ambient surroundings. The insulated bag has a bag body, which can be covered by a bag lid. The bag lid is provided with a first portion of a securing element. The insulated bag is suitable for insertion into an item space of a mobile delivery robot. The mobile robot has a robot lid provided with a complementary second portion of the securing element. After the insulated bag is inserted into the item space, the two portions of the securing element are connected. Thereafter, when the robot lid is opened, the bag lid is also opened, permitting access to its contents. [Abstract US10005609B1]
In 2018,
observers were already predicting more robots everywhere, whether in kitchens, restaurants, warehouses, or surgery rooms (Marston, 2018; About Da Vinci). Within the
context of the COVID-19 pandemic, robots are in even greater demand, for reasons
not entirely unforeseen. For example, robots have long been used for performing
tasks dangerous to humans, such as working in radioactive environments, in deep
space or deep in the ocean, and for fire-fighting (Matthews, 2018; Iborra et al., 2003). Thus, it comes as no huge
surprise that robots, which never get sick, might now
be sought for working in the highly contagious situations of the COVID 19 pandemic (Albrecht, April 24, 2020). At
the end of the day, what is interesting is the diversity of ways in
which robots are indeed becoming increasingly instrumental, within the specifically
unprecedented context of the COVID 19 pandemic.
For
example, the demand for food delivery robots, is increasing. For shuttered
restaurants, permitted only to retain “take-out” activity, delivery robots
expand the client base to similarly shuttered clients. Likewise, for the newly
mandated “socially-distant modes of interaction”, delivery robots reduce both
interactions among humans, and the number of people in contact with food (Albrecht, May 13, 2020). If delivery
robots solved “the last-mile delivery problem” (i.e.; an estimated 41% of the logistics costs for moving goods) prior to the pandemic (Dolan, 2018), they now solve the last
mile with bonuses. Robots are far easier to control for sanitation than human hand-washing, or the absence of fever and symptoms. Indeed, robots are in. More than welcome, they
are a blessing. On the upside of drastic “stay-at-home” orders, sidewalks are
now clear of pedestrians, which also facilitates robot navigation.
Kiwibots are an example of a robot-based food-delivery
system that charmed campuses, prior to the pandemic. Kiwibots
were not only cute because they delivered burritos or pizza from participating
restaurants and stores, with a wink and a smile -- right to your
doorstep or location. The company Kiwi
Campus Inc., developed a business model that relied on robotics-loving
student groups to scale up the delivery service at new campuses.
Robotics-loving students themselves, originally hailing from The University of the Andes in Bogota, Columbia, the Kiwi Campus Inc., founders,Felipe Chávez Cortés, Jason Oviedo and Sergio Pachón, now based at UC Berkeley, banked on others with the same aspirations, keeping
the whole enterprise in the hands of people who were truly enthusiastic and
committed. As a result, the company was managing 10,000 deliveries a day, in
2019, just two years after its inception (Coldeway, 2019). Now, as campuses are closed, the company continues to expand, partnering
with Ordermark the online ordering management company for restaurants, and Shopify, a cloud-based multichannel
commerce platform for small and medium-sized companies, both having agreed to include on
their platforms, an option for a Kiwibot fleet, delivering food and goods. New partnerships for Kiwibots that are now being launched in the San José, California, downtown and Buena Vista areas (Korosec, July 2020).
Kiwibots
are semi-autonomous vehicles, which
means that they rely on sophisticated sensor technology to navigate sidewalks on their itineraries, in coordination
with a team of human teleoperators, based in Bogota, Columbia. The supervising bogotanos manage all of the Kiwibot sidewalk crossings, for example, and are on standby to respond to any emergencies that might arise (McDonald, 2019). Such a team of teleoperators was included because autonomous kiwibots were not quite 100% safe, which was not good enough, according to the company (Coldeway, 2019).
Below, a Youtube
video, showing A day in the life of a kiwibot, from the perspective of the robot.
A visualizing functionality also available to customers, using the kiwibots app for tracking their deliveries.
If you are
in downtown San José,
for one reason or another, remember to keep an eye out for one of the cute Kiwibots, which might be sharing
sidewalks for delivering their payload to happy customers!
And, now for a bit of entertainment! Frank and The Robot (2012) is the story of a robot, a bit like Romeo's alter ego, who is purchased by Hunter to assist Frank, his aging, sloppy, and forgetful father. After a bit of resistance, and much learning on the part of both master and automated companion, Frank and the robot team together for one last triumphant heist.
This is the sweetest science-fiction comedy-drama, staring Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella, directed by Jake Schreier, and Winner of the Sundance Festival Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Award.
Here is the trailer. This film and preview are rated PG-13.
Reference
Frank and The Robot (2012). Directed by Jake Schreier. Produced by Lance Acord, Sam Brisbee, Jackie Kelman-Brisbee and Gail Nederhoffer. Witten by Christopher ford
