Listen, when you go to CES, sometimes you're going to find some products that make you marvel at the complicated, intricate technological innovations that are being showcased before you.
And, then, sometimes you're going to just find some cute little furry robot that makes you say, "Damn, people are going to love this."
Yukai Engineering's Mirumi falls comfortably in that last category.
Mashable came across the Mirumi at CES Unveiled, the show's annual first big event where usually some startups vie for attention by offering up products that make attendees stop in their tracks and say "what the heck am I looking at."
The Mirumi has basically one major function as its selling point to consumers: To do just that. It's a cute, furry little robot that spontaneously turns its head towards passerbyes. As Yukai Engineering describes it, the Mirumi is a "mascot robot…designed to recreate people’s joyful experiences of noticing a human baby as he/she tries to interact with them."
Basically, Mirumi's arms act as a clasp that you can attach to your arm, bag, or anything else and the Mirumi automatically detects movement and turns its head in that direction. Users can also gently tap the back of the Mirumi to manually get some of that movement.
If you get the appeal from this off the bat, you just get it. If you don't, let me provide you with this story.
I took my kids, 9 and 5, to Disney World this past summer. At Galaxy's Edge, the Star Wars-themed part of Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Mandalorian character walks around greeting guests. At his side is a completely animatronic Grogu, better known as Baby Yoda, hanging out of the Mandalorian's bag. It interacts with guests by turning its head, opening its mouth, and making sounds. Kids, my own included, were absolutely enamored with this animatronic Baby Yoda and treated it like it was a live human character.
The Mirumi is going to sell like hot cakes if Yukai Engineering pulls it off correctly. (And can you imagine if they get the licensing for beloved characters, like, say Baby Yoda in the future?!) The company is planning on launching a crowdfunding campaign this year and currently intends to sell the Mirumi at $70, which is a whole lot cheaper than a one-day ticket to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
