LC-3 · Consumer Risk Bulletins

LrrK Kinematic Consumer Risk Bulletin

# LrrK Kinematic Consumer Risk Bulletin

**LRRK Watch / Open-Source Intelligence** — Consumer systems that sense, move, and act in homes and yards.

**Issue type.** Monthly filing.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection cutoff | 31 July 2018 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Window | 1–31 July 2018 |
| Data label | Open-source intelligence // LRRK analytic product // retrospective monthly filing |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. Retrospective reconstruction from contemporaneous public records. |
| Scope | Consumer kinematic electronics only (home, yard, companion, educational). |
| Classes in frame | Robot vacuums / mop combos · robotic lawn mowers · window-cleaning robots · pool-cleaning robots · robot pets / companion animals · social / desk companions · educational / programmable kits · robotic litter boxes · security / home patrol robots · consumer robotic arms · elder-care / assistive companions · kitchen / food-prep robots · toy / entertainment robots · niche outdoor / garden robots · emerging general-purpose or humanoid home robots |
| Spine | CPSC, Health Canada, EU Safety Gate, UK OPSS, manufacturer recall pages, named newsrooms, dockets. |
| Color | Message boards, consumer forums, and Reddit — annotated context only. Never Fact without a reputable primary. |


## Executive read

### BLUF

Kuri is the month’s companion brick. On 25 July Mayfield Robotics tells backers it has ceased manufacturing, will not ship built units, and will refund pre-order deposits; operations pause while Bosch finds no “business fit.” Jibo’s Financial District office is empty when the *Globe* visits. Pertisau remains June’s file. No official recall.

### Key judgments

1. **[Assessment — High confidence]** The 25 July Mayfield letter is a dated companion-robot wind-down with refunds. It is not a physical-harm file.
2. **[Assessment — High confidence]** Scott Kirsner’s 20 July *Boston Globe* empty-office visit is dated Jibo distress, not a server kill.
3. **[Assessment — High confidence]** No July CPSC / Health Canada / OPSS / Safety Gate consumer-robot action was found.

### Analytic labels
- **Fact** — verified reporting or primary record
- **Assessment** — analytic judgment
- **Inference** — reasoned but not directly observed
- **Uncertainty** — unresolved information gap

### Source grades
- **A1** — authoritative primary record / directly confirmed
- **B1–B2** — generally reliable and corroborated
- **C3** — useful but requires caution (typical for forums)

---

## 01. Mayfield Robotics Kuri — manufacturing ceased; built units will not ship; deposits refunded

*Event / publication dates: 25 July 2018 (Mayfield letter to backers / blog)*

**Product class.** Social / desk companions; security / home-patrol-adjacent (camera, livestream)

**Verified record — [Fact — A1 / B1]** Mayfield Robotics, Bosch Startup Platform, 25 July 2018: “effective today, Mayfield Robotics will pause operations as we evaluate the company’s path forward. Sadly, our Kuri manufacturing will cease, and the Kuri robots that have been made will not ship to customers. All pre-order deposits will be refunded to our customers.” After “extensive review, there was not a business fit within Bosch to support and scale our business.” First units had shipped to backers in late 2017; list about **$700**. [The Robot Report (full letter)](https://www.therobotreport.com/kuri-robot-cancelled-mayfield-pauses/); [TechCrunch, 25 July](https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/25/mayfield-robotics-ceases-production-of-kuri-robot-amid-a-questionable-future/); [The Verge, 25 July](https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/25/17613240/kuri-robot-pause-refund-mayfield-robotics).

**Injuries/deaths:** none. Companion brick / wind-down. Company still exists on this date; October cease-operations is out of this window.

**Threat landscape.** A camera-bearing home companion that dies on the invoice. Refunds are the remedy this month. Physical harm is none. The trust failure is a robot that never arrives, or a shipped early unit whose maker has paused.

**Forum / community notes.**
- none independently opened.

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Dated cease-manufacturing plus refund. [Inference — Moderate confidence] Bosch “no business fit” is the same companion-class economics as Jibo’s June RIF. [Uncertainty] How many late-2017 units already sat in homes, and what cloud life they keep.

**Opportunity.** A cease-operations date, or a named support cutoff for units already shipped.

**LRRK relevance.** Control Fabric and Campaign. Passport: pre-order refund as the clean remedy. Watch: Kuri / Mayfield.

**Confidence.** High on the 25 July letter as printed. Low on installed-base of already-shipped units.

---

## 02. Jibo office empty — *Globe* finds packing supplies and “sold” furniture

*Event / publication dates: 20 July 2018 (Boston Globe)*

**Product class.** Social / desk companions

**Verified record — [Fact — B1]** Scott Kirsner, *Boston Globe*, 20 July 2018: Jibo’s Financial District office empty on a weekday; packing supplies; furniture bearing “sold” labels. VP marketing Nancy Smith confirmed the June layoffs were “to allow ourselves additional time to secure additional funding or pursue an exit.” >$70 million raised. [Boston Globe, 20 July](https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/07/20/here-what-happens-when-startups-wrong/gU7hWj8LOGD23o83by2yJI/story.html).

**This is not the March 2019 funeral.** No July server-kill notice was found.

**Threat landscape.** Unchanged from June: a selling social robot whose office is being packed. Physical harm none.

**Forum / community notes.**
- none found.

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Dated empty-office observation plus the same “funding or exit” line. [Uncertainty] Whether the cart was already dark in July (BBJ will later say the buy button was gone by November).

**Opportunity.** Asset-sale or withdrawal filing.

**LRRK relevance.** Passport: support duration. Watch: Jibo Inc.

**Confidence.** High on the *Globe* visit. Low on remaining sellable inventory.

---

## Forward indicators

1. Mayfield cease-operations date (still a pause this month).
2. Jibo asset sale or Massachusetts withdrawal.
3. Any brand named on the Pertisau child.
4. Any 2018 official consumer-robot recall.
5. Vector / aibo US — still ahead.

> **Collection integrity.** Two signals. Pertisau is June and is not re-filed. **Excluded:** March 2019 Jibo funeral; April 2019 Anki shutdown; CPSC 20-115; Honda Miimo 2024. SZ/dpa 13 July hedgehog / Warentest recap is wildlife and a reprint of April’s dummy test — not graduated as a new human-injury Fact. No July official recall. Forum empty.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

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