LC-3 · Consumer Risk Bulletins

Kinematic Risk Consumer Bulletin

# Kinematic Risk Consumer Bulletin

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

**Issue type.** Monthly (LC-3). Window = calendar month. Not the weekday 24–48h poll.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection cutoff | 31 December 2024 |
| Window | 1–31 December 2024 |
| Series | KRCB-M-2024-12 |
| Status | short |
| Data label | Open-source intelligence // LRRK analytic product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scope | Consumer kinematic electronics only (home, yard, companion, educational). |
| Spine | CPSC, Health Canada, EU Safety Gate, UK OPSS, manufacturer pages, named newsrooms, dockets. |
| Color | Forums annotated only. Never Fact without a reputable primary. |

## Executive read

### BLUF

December’s consumer file is a cloud-kill. Embodied told Moxie owners around 9–10 December that the $799–$800 child companion would lose core function “within days,” with no refunds except a non-guarantee for 30-day buyers. Fourteen days after FTC staff said missing support-duration disclosure may violate warranty law. No FTC case and no class action were found. Amazon’s Astro refund is the opposite remedy.

### Key judgments

1. **[Assessment — High confidence]** Embodied’s closing FAQ, as quoted by Ars Technica and archived, states that Moxie cannot perform core functionality without cloud connectivity, that services will likely cease “within days,” and that the company is “unable” to offer most owners refunds.
2. **[Assessment — High confidence]** This is not an official recall and not an FTC complaint. Staff paper (26 November) ≠ case.
3. **[Inference — Moderate confidence]** A child-facing kinematic object whose personality is a server will keep dying on the invoice. Astro for Business (full refund + $300) is the remediation baseline a later plaintiff will quote.

### 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

---

## 01. Embodied bricks Moxie — cloud-kill, no refunds

*Event / publication dates: customer / FAQ notice ~9–10 December 2024 (The Verge 9 December 23:33 UTC; Axios 10 December; Ars Technica on the same cycle)*

**Product class.** Social / desk companion robots (sold for children ages 5–10)

**Verified record — [Fact — A1 / B1]** Embodied, Inc. notified customers that it was shutting down after a “critical funding round” collapsed. Company: “We had secured a lead investor who was prepared to close the round. However, at the last minute, they withdrew, leaving us with no viable options to continue operations.” Moxie retailed at about **$799–$800**. Marketed as an “animate companion” for children 5–10.

Embodied: Moxie cannot perform core functionality without cloud connectivity. “We don’t know the exact date when services will cease. It is likely to happen within days. However, we are exploring options to keep Moxie operational for as long as possible, although we cannot provide any guarantees.” Archived FAQ: Moxie “will not function once services end”; cloud functions “cannot be replicated locally”; once services stop, Moxie “will no longer perform any of its interactive or learning functions.” Warranties, repair services, the parent app and guides, and support staff end. The company said it is “unable” to offer most owners refunds because of its “financial situation and impending dissolution.” Exception language for buyers within 30 days: if the company or its assets are sold, “we will do our best to prioritize refunds” — **not a guarantee**. Data: deleted, or transferred to a buyer if one appears.

Sources: [archived Closing FAQs](https://archive.is/pSuho), [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/12/startup-will-brick-800-emotional-support-robot-for-kids-without-refunds/), [Axios, 10 December 2024](https://www.axios.com/2024/12/10/moxie-kids-robot-shuts-down), [The Verge, 9 December 2024](https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/9/24317477/ai-robot-companions-for-kids-go-dark-as-company-shutters).

**No FTC case, no class action, no ruling found** in this window. The 26 November FTC staff paper is the theory, not a Moxie docket. Published unit count of bricked Moxies was not found.

Opposite remedy, still in year: Amazon **Astro for Business** ceased functioning 25 September 2024 with **full hardware refunds + unused-subscription refunds + $300 credit**. Home Astro was not that brick.

**Injuries/deaths:** none. Economic / companionship-trust record.

**Threat landscape.** A child-facing kinematic object whose personality is a server. When the company dies, the object becomes inert plastic in a bedroom. Physical risk is low. The Magnuson-Moss / §5 risk is the precedent: support duration was the thing November’s staff paper said must be disclosed.

**Forum / community notes.**
- none independently confirmed as Fact.

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Moxie is the cleanest in-window example of a children’s companion robot bricked without refunds. [Inference — Moderate confidence] The FTC staff paper plus this timing tees up the first “you must disclose how long the robot will live” case — staff paper ≠ case. [Uncertainty] How many units were in the field; whether any 30-day refunds actually posted.

**Opportunity.** An FTC or state-AG complaint that cites Moxie against the November 2024 theory. Amazon’s Astro refund is the remediation baseline.

**LRRK relevance.** Control Fabric and Campaign (cloud as the robot). Passport: warranty and support-duration disclosure. Watch: any MMWA / §5 follow-on.

**Confidence.** High on the dated notice, the cloud-tether sentence, and the no-refund language as quoted. Moderate on “within days” as the actual server-off date. Low on unit count.

---

## Forward indicators

1. Any FTC or state-AG complaint that names Moxie against the 26 November staff paper.
2. Any published unit count or 30-day-buyer refund that actually posted.
3. GD-24-010283 — still no judgment found.
4. Official Safety Gate HTML for A12/03112/24 — still not opened here.
5. First 2025 official consumer-robot recall.

> **Collection integrity.** One signal. Five-signal form is not padded. Spine opened: Ars Technica (quoting the FAQ), Axios 10 December, The Verge 9 December, archive.is/pSuho (FAQ captured; live HTML of the Embodied page was not independently re-fetched). No CPSC, Health Canada, OPSS, or Safety Gate consumer-robot recall dated December 2024 was found. **Seen and held:** Honda Miimo UK/FR pages still posted; PA AG v. DDL still open, no December judgment; EU GPSR (Reg. 2023/988) applies from 13 December 2024 as a horizontal net, not a robot-specific action. Killed: this is an FTC case; Home Astro was bricked; Embodied issued refunds as a class. Forum color: none opened as Fact.

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

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