A new company called Misty Robotics Inc. will be building personal robots. The company, which is a spin-off of robotic toy company Sphero, launched with $11.5 million in Series A funding from Venrock, Foundry Group, and others.
Tim Enwall, CEO of Misty Robotics, says now is the right time for robots to start handling more of our household chores.
“The world has not had a mobile, hearing, seeing ‘robotic being’ moving around its normal living and working spaces. It’s like every other major technology disruption before it: small and exciting to those at the very innovative end of the adoption curve,” Enwall says.
The worldwide number of domestic household robots is expected to rise to 31 million between 2016 and 2019, according to the International Federation of Robotics. This translates to a sales value of about $13 billion.
“Misty Robotics is the same giant step function for robotics as Apple was for computers,” Enwall says.
Before Apple, developers were building the foundation (the computer). After the introduction of Apple, developers are now building applications. Right now, everyone is building robots and Misty Robotics is that same step-function for robotics. We’re focused on developing robots for everyone. While the market is in early days, we believe the time is right for Misty Robotics to lead the charge in bringing the idea of “Rosie from the Jetsons” to reality.
The company’s first offering will be geared toward developers and enthusiasts, but eventually, the goal is to sell a robot that can handle household chores, which Enwall says could include “watering the plants, playing with cat, reading to your child, keeping an eye on your house, and even keeping us safe.”
Source: ZDNet
