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 August 2018 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Window | 1–31 August 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

Mayfield writes the cease-operations date: all operations end by 31 October 2018 after “dozens of companies” would not take Kuri. The same month Anki puts Vector on Kickstarter (8 August; retail promised 12 October, $249.99) as a cloud-connected “home robot,” and Sony says a limited US First Litter aibo bundle will go on sale in September at $2,899 with a three-year AI Cloud Plan. No official recall.

### Key judgments

1. **[Assessment — High confidence]** The 21 August Mayfield blog is the companion-class wind-down completing. Refunds were already the July remedy.
2. **[Assessment — High confidence]** Vector’s 8 August Kickstarter is a dated cloud companion launch path, not a 2019 shutdown.
3. **[Assessment — High confidence]** Sony’s 23 August US announcement is a subscription-personality SKU entering a second market. Purchase opens in September.

### 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 — cease all operations by 31 October 2018

*Event / publication dates: 21 August 2018 (Mayfield blog)*

**Product class.** Social / desk companions

**Verified record — [Fact — A1 / B1]** Mayfield blog, 21 August 2018: “Since late 2017, we’ve been searching for external partners to support our future. Together with Bosch, we pursued many options for additional financial investment and long-term technology development. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement with any of the many dozens of companies we talked to. Sadly, this means that Mayfield Robotics will cease all operations by October 31st, 2018.” Team “beyond disappointed”; Bosch to help with severance and outplacement. [The Robot Report (blog text)](https://www.therobotreport.com/kuri-robot-cancelled-mayfield-pauses/); [TechCrunch, 21 August](https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/21/kuri-maker-mayfield-robotics-will-cease-operations-in-october/).

July’s refund / no-ship letter is background. **Injuries/deaths:** none.

**Threat landscape.** The company that was going to keep a camera-bearing home robot alive will not exist after October. Already-shipped late-2017 units lose a maker. Physical harm none.

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

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Dated cease-operations. [Inference — Moderate confidence] October 31 is a calendar kill, not a new technical finding. [Uncertainty] Cloud life of already-shipped Kuris after the company closes.

**Opportunity.** A named support-cutoff mail to existing owners.

**LRRK relevance.** Control Fabric and Campaign. Watch: 31 October.

**Confidence.** High on the 21 August text. Low on residual fleet.

---

## 02. Anki Vector — Kickstarter 8 August; retail promised 12 October at $249.99

*Event / publication dates: 8 August 2018 (Kickstarter / The Verge / MacRumors)*

**Product class.** Toy / entertainment robots; social / desk companions (home)

**Verified record — [Fact — A1 / B1]** Anki opened a 30-day US Kickstarter for Vector on 8 August 2018 (funding window 8 August–7 September). Early access **$199.99**, estimated delivery 9 October; retail **$249.99** on **12 October 2018**, one charger and one interactive cube. Anki framed Vector as a “home robot,” cloud-connected, always-on, not a phone-tethered Cozmo. The Verge (8 August): ships October for $249.99; custom voice assistant (not Alexa); local vision; voice snippet to cloud for speech-to-text; CEO Boris Sofman: “characterful utility.” [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anki/vector-by-anki-a-giant-roll-forward-for-robot-kind); [The Verge, 8 August](https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/8/17661902/anki-vector-home-robot-voice-assistant-ai); [MacRumors, 8 August](https://www.macrumors.com/2018/08/08/anki-reveals-vector-robot/).

**This is not Anki’s 2019 shutdown.** That event is out of window.

**Injuries/deaths:** none. Companion-launch / cloud-tether record.

**Threat landscape.** A kinematic companion whose personality and answers are a mix of on-device character and a cloud voice path. Physical harm none. The trust failure, if the maker dies, is a desk robot that stops being a robot.

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

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Dated Kickstarter plus a promised retail day. [Inference — Moderate confidence] Shipping a cloud companion into the same summer Kuri dies is the 2018 companion pattern. [Uncertainty] Whether October retail actually happens is still a promise this month.

**Opportunity.** A support-duration disclosure on the retail box. None on the opened Kickstarter.

**LRRK relevance.** Control Fabric and Campaign (cloud identity). Passport: Kickstarter-to-retail companion. Watch: 12 October ship.

**Confidence.** High on dates and prices. Moderate on local-vs-cloud split as Sofman described it. Low on unit demand this month.

---

## 03. Sony — US First Litter aibo announced; $2,899, three-year AI Cloud Plan, September sale

*Event / publication dates: 23 August 2018 (Sony Electronics / TechCrunch / IEEE Spectrum)*

**Product class.** Robot pets / companion animals (ERS-1000)

**Verified record — [Fact — A1 / B1]** Sony Electronics, New York, 23 August 2018: limited First Litter Edition for the United States; all-in-one bundle — aibo, **three-year AI Cloud Plan**, toys, individually numbered dog tag; suggested retail **$2,899**; on sale September 2018; delivery in time for the holidays. IEEE Spectrum same day: after selling 20,000 new aibos in Japan. TechCrunch: US goal “in the thousands” per Sony’s Mike Fasulo; three-year plan means “the dog should be kicking for that long at least.” [Sony Media Room, 23 August](https://sony.mediaroom.com/2018-08-23-Sony-Announces-Limited-First-Litter-Edition-Release-of-aibo-in-U-S); [TechCrunch, 23 August](https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/23/sonys-adorable-new-aibo-comes-to-the-us-in-sept-priced-at-2899/).

Purchase-open is September and is not double-counted here as a ship. **Injuries/deaths:** none.

**Threat landscape.** The Japan subscription-personality SKU, priced for the US, with a three-year prepaid cloud. Physical harm none.

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

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Dated US announcement and price. [Uncertainty] How the plan renews after year three is a footnote on the later purchase page, not this release.

**Opportunity.** The September cart and the December first deliveries.

**LRRK relevance.** Control Fabric. Passport: prepaid three-year personality. Watch: US First Litter.

**Confidence.** High on date and $2,899 / three-year plan. Moderate on the 20,000 Japan figure (IEEE Spectrum).

---

## Forward indicators

1. Vector 12 October retail — does it actually land.
2. aibo US cart open (September) and first deliveries (December).
3. Mayfield 31 October close.
4. Jibo asset sale / withdrawal.
5. Any brand named on Pertisau. Any 2018 official recall.

> **Collection integrity.** Three signals. **Excluded:** Anki April 2019 shutdown; Jibo March 2019 funeral; CPSC 20-115; Honda Miimo 2024; Pertisau (June). Fraunhofer / Phys.org August LiDAR-for-mowers copy is a lab pitch citing Warentest, not a new incident — not graduated. No August official recall. Forum empty.

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

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