Build log
What is a flying home robot good for?
People ask us the obvious question: why would a home need a flying robot? Fair. Our answer comes as two lists, and the list of what it is not for is the longer one.
In short. A small flying robot is good at one thing a phone and a speaker are not: going somewhere else in your home and looking. Is the bedroom window shut? Where are you, so it can bring a reminder? Which room has the cat? It is not good at carrying, cleaning, guarding or watching children, and we do not design ours for that. Alkyon is a concept in development, for Europe only.
What it can be good for
- Going to look. “Did I close the bedroom window?” It flies there, looks, tells you in one line, and flies back. You do not have to get up, or have a camera fixed in every room.
- Finding you. A reminder that matters can come to the room you are in, and wait at a distance.
- Finding things. It needs to learn what to look for. Ours recognises people, cats, dogs and curtains so far; keys and glasses are next.
- Getting there through a narrow home. Folding its arms, it fits through narrow doors: through a narrow door.
- Taking turns. Several can share a home, so one is always ready: several robots, one home.
What it is not for
- Carrying or fetching. A robot light enough to fly near people has nothing to spare for loads, and no hands.
- Cleaning. That is a job for floor robots.
- Guarding the house. It is not a security camera: it does not patrol, and you see a live view only when you ask.
- Watching children. It keeps its distance from people, and it is no substitute for a person.
- Long flights. Small robots fly for minutes, then rest on their dock: a dock that swaps the battery.
- Conversation in the air. Propellers are loud; you talk with it once it has landed: drone noise at home.
- Going outside. Balconies and gardens are places it does not go: home drones and the law.
Why we think it is worth building anyway
Most of what a home assistant cannot do today comes down to not being able to look. A speaker hears; a phone stays where you put it. A small robot that can go and look, carefully, and then get out of the way, fills that gap without a camera on every wall. Whether it is worth its noise and its price is a question we will answer honestly once real prototypes fly. What we will not compromise on: the rules in its design.
Where it stands
Alkyon flies in simulation today; a test stand comes next, and it has not been tested with people yet. It is a concept in development, for Europe only, and not yet CE marked: an autonomous indoor drone.
Questions
What can an indoor drone do at home?
Mainly go and look somewhere for you, such as whether a window is shut, find you in another room, and help look for things it has learned to recognise. It answers on your ring or phone, then flies back to its dock.
Can a home drone watch my children or guard my house?
We do not design Alkyon for that. It is not a security camera and not a babysitter: it flies when you ask, keeps away from people, and you see a live view only when you ask for one.