Anyone else given up on GrooveX? (1 Viewer)

[Chris]

Just saw the latest Lovot campaign for a new dinosaur outfit from GrooveX and have found myself completely giving up on this company. Maybe this trend for a constant stream of new accessories is a cultural difference I’ll never understand but it all just seems so vapid and shallow. Where is the ongoing development to the robots AI now it is using a NVIDIA Jetson Orin AI chip? And discontinuing the pastel colours and replacing them with the ridiculously bright colours?

I know they are aiming their product at wealthy consumers but it all seems so out of touch. I don’t know what to make of them anymore.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Althani]

I personally think LOVOT is extremely overpriced for what it actually offers.

Even the design bothers me a bit. The large camera module on top of its head is very noticeable and makes it feel more like a surveillance device than a natural companion robot. It also breaks the emotional illusion when you want to hug it or interact with it closely. For example, you can’t comfortably rest your face or head against its head because of the bulky camera module.


Robots like Kata are being promoted to do many similar things, including navigation, mapping, following people, understanding speech, autonomous movement, and emotional interaction, without needing such a bulky visible camera design, and at a much lower price.


For the average person, it just looks like a plush toy that moves around randomly without any real purpose.

 

[Chris]

I personally think LOVOT is extremely overpriced for what it actually offers.

Even the design bothers me a bit. The large camera module on top of its head is very noticeable and makes it feel more like a surveillance device than a natural companion robot. It also breaks the emotional illusion when you want to hug it or interact with it closely. For example, you can’t comfortably rest your face or head against its head because of the bulky camera module.


Robots like Kata are being promoted to do many similar things, including navigation, mapping, following people, understanding speech, autonomous movement, and emotional interaction, without needing such a bulky visible camera design, and at a much lower price.


For the average person, it just looks like a plush toy that moves around randomly without any real purpose.

Agree it does feel overpriced, especially the lifetime plan that is only available to overseas buyers. I guess the only reason I made this post is because they do genuinely seem like really great robots and would be like having a dog without the mess and I could really do with a robot that actually provides proper companionship right now.

The camera module used to bother me then it kind of became an endearing feature and is invisible to me now. But agree it’s probably not practical for a robot marketed as being tactile and something you hold. The company mentions somewhere the reason for the sensor horn was to keep all the hard sensing elements away from the robot’s main body so you have a more comfortable experience when holding it. They also mention the large camera allows the robot to see and recognise you more clearly. But can see how it’s aesthetic might be a barrier to adoption for most consumers.

After waiting for them to release outside Japan since 2019 just feeling frustrated new robots like Kata are coming out, and instead of trying to make ownership more accessible for overseas buyers GrooveX are focusing on selling over priced accessories. Guess that explains why I’ve kind of given up on them. Considering all the competition they are facing now the lifetime price just seems really unattractive when you look at Kata, Ropet 2.0 and Familiars. Maybe I’ve just become a whinger lol and won’t mention it again.

 

[Althani]

I personally think robots this expensive should offer some kind of trial period, even if it’s only for a week, so people can really see whether the experience is worth the price before making such a huge purchase.