Build log
Rules for a robot at home.
A robot that flies around your home has to earn its place. Before we decide what Alkyon can do, we decide what it may not do. These are the rules in its design, and why each one is there.
In short. Alkyon is a concept for a small flying companion, and its design starts from rules, not features. It is designed to keep 1 m from people, stop its motors on contact, stop when you press your ring twice, stay indoors, keep its camera’s images at home, and keep the AI away from the motors. It flies in simulation today; it has not been tested with people yet.
1. Keep its distance
Alkyon is designed to keep at least 1 m from people, and to slow to walking pace when someone is in the room. The distance carries a margin that grows when the robot is less sure where it is. It flies to find you, then waits at that distance; you talk with it once it has landed, because in flight its propellers are too loud for a conversation.
2. Stop on contact, and on two presses
If it touches anything, its motors stop. Two presses on your Lychnos Ring stop it too, from anywhere in the home. A low battery, a lost sensor or a lost link makes it land on its own. How the ring and the robot talk: calling your drone with a ring.
3. Guards round every propeller
A child’s finger must not reach a blade from any side. Our first thin rings failed that test, so each propeller now gets a carbon hoop with grilles above and below, at a cost in grams we chose to pay. These are model results so far, to be checked on printed parts: guards a finger cannot pass.
4. Stay indoors, and out of marked places
The first Alkyon is made for indoors. Its software stops it at doors to balconies and gardens, and at any place you mark on its map in the app; it stops at the threshold and tells you. It also keeps clear of curtains and tulle, because propellers pull fabric in.
5. Keep the camera at home
Alkyon sees with distance sensors and a camera. Its camera images, its sound and the map of your home are processed on its dock, in your home, and you see a live view only when you ask for one. What to ask of any robot’s camera: home robot camera privacy.
6. The AI proposes, the software decides
An AI is good at understanding “go and see whether I left the window open”. It should not hold the controls. In Alkyon, the AI suggests where to go; ordinary code that we test decides how to fly, and a safety layer above everything checks every move and can stop it. The same rule runs through the ring: an AI that asks first.
Where this stands
Alkyon is a concept in development, planned for Europe only. These rules are in its design and in thousands of simulated flights; next comes a test stand that measures real thrust, power and noise. We will publish our safety tests before anyone flies one at home. More about the robot: Alkyon. How several robots share one home: several robots, one home. What to ask of any home drone: twelve things to check.
Questions
Can Alkyon fly outside?
No. The first Alkyon is made for indoors: its software stops it at doors to balconies and gardens, and any place you mark on its map is off limits.
Who controls Alkyon's motors, the AI or the software?
The software. The AI can suggest where to go and what to look for; ordinary code that we test decides how it flies, and a safety layer above everything can stop it.