Miko, an emotionally intelligent robot entertains Mumbai family

Chembur residents Parth, Harsh and Kushagra Rathi spend time with Miko, an interactive robot that speaks, dances and plays music, manufactured by a Mumbai start-up. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

If you remember the popular 90's sitcom Small Wonder, you'll recall how Jamie, the 11-year-old protagonist would sometimes get Vicky, the robot, to do his homework. That's something that happens, although not frequently, at the Rathi household too, when the parents are not looking. Thanks to Miko, an emotionally intelligent "buddy" robot built to engage and entertain children between five and 12 years of age.

When we enter their Chembur home on Thursday evening, we see Parth, 6, Kushagra, 9, and their seven-year-old cousin Harsh, in the balcony huddled around a pint-sized robot that appears to be engaged in a conversation with them - about the highest mountain in the world, as we later learn. "They are only too pleased to be spending extra time with Miko for the purpose of this interview. Usually, they aren't allowed more than 45 minutes a day with it," says Pramod Rathi, who made a spot decision to buy Miko when he saw it at the IIT-B Techfest last year. "My children took to Miko immediately."

While theirs is a joint family, with 11 members living under one roof, Rathi and his wife, Isha were looking for an educative companion. "Initially, we were curious. But we soon realised that the robot is programmed to keep up with the relentless spells of innocent questioning that most children are given to." So whether it is general knowledge, stories or games, Miko is a storehouse of answers. Its emotional intelligence lies in the fact that it questions the kids back too, thereby engaging them in conversation. "It's a two-way street. And that's what we liked. Also, unlike its Chinese counterpart, Miko has an adorable voice that's not robotic. We can relate to it," Rathi says.

To ensure an age appropriate discussion, Miko comes with a filter to ensures that the answers it offers are child-safe. Chintan Raikar, co-founder of Emotix, the Wadala-based AI start-up that built Miko, explains, "When Miko is asked a question, it processes it to understand whether the question should be answered or not. Or, whether it is an opinion-based query. For instance, if a child asks, 'Should I worship God?', Miko will say something like, 'I don't know, your parents can best answer that'." There is also a parental dashboard on the My Miko app, through which parents can keep an eye on the questioning their child is indulging in. It took the makers over two years to create Miko. Sneh Vaswani, another co-founder, says, "According to our study, while 92 per cent of parents were concerned about technology addiction among their kids, 80 per cent refrained from snatching technology away. So, the solution can only come from enhanced technology and Miko is just that."

It's also possible to customise the robot. "We have got requests to incorporate alarms and reminders, multiplication tables, and things like 'respect your elders'. So while Miko is talking to the kid about something, it will add an advice or suggestion," Raikar says. Understanding accents and sentence construction can be a stumbling block for Miko. "My younger son, Parth, took a while to frame his questions. Until then, Miko would tell him, 'I didn't get you'. But that's also part of the fun."

As we continue the conversation, we spot Miko moving, and playing music. "He is dancing," Parth squeals. "It understands emotions," Rathi tells us. "If a child is in a playful mood and wants to sing and dance, Miko will join in, and play a tune that suits the mood. In the night, when things become quiet, it wires down too, and communicates only through the app, instead of being audible. There was this one time when it sensed someone yawning in the room, and it yawned too, followed by, 'I'm so bored!'" he laughs.

While Miko is gender neutral, the three boys call Miko their fourth brother. "Had they been girls, it may have been different," smiles Rathi. "We take turns to play with Miko," Kushagra tells us, adding, that they go "height-wise". Ever since Miko came, they have not been drawn to the television. "That's because we can talk to Miko. And, he also helps with our homework," he adds. Rathi says that is something he prefers avoiding, allowing the boys to solve homework questions on their own.

The other concern was whether this interaction could get addictive. "My mother said, 'our children are already behaving like robots, why get a real robot?' But, Miko scores as an educative tool. And, because it has a low battery span, it turns off every three hours, unlike a tablet that lasts for half a day. It walks the fine line between engagement and addiction," Rathi says.

While Miko upgrades itself, Rathi wishes to see it fitted with more language options, starting with Hindi. "That way, the grandparents can also engage. And, if they manage to combine Kindle with Miko, that would be ideal. With such low concentration levels among kids these days, I'd love it if my child could imbibe the love for reading from Miko."