Insider Brief
- Matic introduced Matic Cues, a software update that lets its home cleaning robot respond to spoken commands in more than 70 languages along with pointing and other gestures.
- The feature lets users direct the robot without an app, including pointing to debris, sending it to a room or asking it to follow them, with the update rolling out to existing owners and included on new units.
- Matic’s robot uses a five-camera vision system and on-device processing to map homes in 3D, distinguish floor surfaces and recognize common objects, while keeping visual data off the cloud unless users opt in.
Consumer cleaning robot maker Matic has introduced a software update called Matic Cues that lets its home robot respond to spoken commands in more than 70 languages, along with pointing and other gestures.
According to Matic, the feature is designed to make the robot easier to use without relying on an app. A user can point to a spill or debris and tell Matic to clean it, direct the robot to a room, or ask it to follow them. Existing owners will receive the feature through an over-the-air update, and it will be included on new units.
“Humans have understood each other through cues for 200,000 years,” co-founder Mehul Nariyawala, said in the announcement. “A truly intelligent robot that is intuitive to use should learn how humans naturally communicate, instead of asking families to learn yet another new interface. That is the only way a robot can truly belong inside a home and become part of a family.”
Matic’s robot vacuums and mops using a five-camera vision system and on-device processing. The company said the system builds a 3D understanding of the home, distinguishes between surfaces such as rugs and hard floors, and identifies common objects including shoes, cables and pet toys so it can clean around them.
The company also emphasizes local processing as a privacy feature. Visual data is handled on the device and is not sent to the cloud unless the owner opts in.
Matic is designed and assembled in California. The company was founded in 2017 by Nariyawala and Navneet Dalal and sells its flagship robot for $1,245. The conpany pointed out that its launch comes as U.S. regulators increase scrutiny of foreign-made robotics products. Matic said it supports efforts to apply common security, privacy and safety requirements to robots sold in the U.S.
