Purism Branches Out From Smartphones and Laptops with the MiMi Telepresence Robot Concept
Expected to launch in 2028, the bipedal MiMi — currently in the earliest stage of research and development — is a big shift for the company.
Purism, which produces smartphones and laptops built to use a minimum of proprietary closed source firmware and software, is branching out — launching a crowdfunding campaign to build a humanoid robot called MiMi.
"We want to revolutionize robotics and are seeking your support to fund this research and development," the company writes of latest venture. "We believe robotics, AI, and technology as a whole need a new direction from what Big Tech is building. We consistently deliver on revolutionary technology, and with your support will invest to revolutionize humanoid robotics."
The company is seeking $1.2 million in funds to develop MiMi, a humanoid robot — currently existing only as rendered concept art — which eschews the industry trend towards using artificial intelligence to create semi- or fully-autonomous robots in favor of human-driven telepresence.
"The [operator] virtually enters the MiMi and sees through the eyes of the MiMi, hears through the ears of the MiMi, and speaks through the mouth of the MiMi," the company explains of its vision for the project. "The OP will be able to physically interact with the world, head turn and tilt, walking, and eventually running, jumping, and crouching that that follow the head orientation —just like in first person gaming."
The robot itself is envisioned as a toddler-size bipedal machine with a display delivering animated "eyes." While it will be controlled entirely by a human operator using an interface inspired by first-person games, Purism claims the control will be "AI assisted" — and that, similar to its other products, will include "hardware kill switches" for privacy guarantees. The software, meanwhile, will be released under free, libre, and open source licenses — though the company has not promised the same for the hardware design.
The robot's wish-list includes a wide range of sensors and output devices, with Purism promising in no particular order: one standard, one telephoto, one night-vision, and one infrared camera; a microphone; speaker; standard and ultraviolet flashlights; local and remote temperature sensors; a proximity sensor; a pressure sensor; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide sensors; air pollution sensor; smoke sensor; motion sensor; accelerometer; gyroscope; and humidity sensor.
Mimi's unveiling comes as the company faces criticism for delayed product launches and reported difficulties in customers receiving refunds for faulty goods — or devices that were never even delivered. The company isn't accepting pre-orders for MiMi, though: instead, it's offering coupons that can be purchased starting at $425 for the board-only MiMi Dev Kit rising to $1,487.50 for the bipedal MiMi and which increase in value at the rate of $25 per month until launch. The final pricing, though, has yet to be confirmed — and could exceed the coupon value, even accounting for the accrual rate and a promised 10 percent discount.
More information is available on the Purism website; the company predicts it will take "at least 12 months from campaign ending, probably closer to 18 months" to launch the MiMi Dev Kit, with an additional year each for the head-only sensor-equipped MiMi M0, wheeled MiMi M1, and the bipedal Mimi M2 — putting the most generous launch date for the final MiMi M2 design somewhere in 2028.