On January 4, 2022, a new company called Labrador Systems, Inc. announced their inaugural product that can give home assistance — the Labrador Retriever. The robot can help people in moving heavy objects and bringing essential goods within arm’s reach.
Keeping things at arm’s reach
Just as the name suggests, the Labrador Retriever is very much like a dog as it can retrieve anything you need within its trays. While it is large and powerful, it is also designed to fit any home.
With its proprietary navigation system, along with robotics and augmented reality algorithms, the robot can move around the house autonomously. Depending on the user’s position, it may park itself within inches of an armchair and automatically adjust its height to bring goods closer to them.
The Labrador Retriever can carry up to 25 pounds of weight, with distributing trays that can hold up to 10 pounds and still go through the nooks and crannies of a home with ease. The trays themselves can be placed on shelves, countertops, and other surfaces.
The robot assistant can be controlled through a variety of simple apps, such as a touch screen, a mobile phone app, speech (such as an Alexa-enabled device), or by pressing a wireless button. It is also possible to program the Retriever to send objects on a certain schedule, which would serve as “physical reminders” to users.
Labrador Systems CEO Mike Dooley understands that a lot of people who have chronic pain, injuries, or other health conditions can have difficulty moving even within their homes, saying that “There’s a significant portion of our society that’s massively underserved.” To remedy that, the Labrador Retriever aims to assist people for them to become more active and self-sufficient. To fully optimize the product, the company is also working with care providers for senior living, home health, and physical therapy to see how the robot can assist people.
The project is being supported by Alexa Fund, the venture capital firm of Amazon that invests in entrepreneurs pioneering ambient computing technology, and has been provided a grant by the National Science Foundation. Furthermore, Labrador Systems is planning to grow its ecosystem of products and services, such as the Labrador Caddie, which will act as a base model. The Retriever is also being tested with senior living communities, physical therapy clinics, and home health agencies to see if it can help them achieve their goals. The Retriever may be found here if you’d like to learn more about how it can benefit your organization.
Pre-registration program and its benefits
For millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain, injury, or other health concerns that limit their everyday activities. As early as the second half of 2023, Labrador Systems hopes to have complete production units of the Labrador Retriever accessible. The company launched early reservations for the Retriever on their website to coincide with the robot’s debut.
According to the company, the home version of the Labrador Retriever will be initially offered by subscription. Pre-order will need to pay $1,500 upfront in addition to a monthly price ranging from $99 to $149 per month for 36 months, depending on the model and the amount of customer credit they have. Customers who sign up on the website for an early reservation and have provided a refundable deposit will also be eligible for special prices.
YouTube: Introducing the Labrador Retriever Robot at CES 2022
Photo credit: The images used are owned by Labrador Systems and have been provided for press usage.
Source: CES
Editorial notice: Update 9th of February – After consulting with Mike Dooley, there was a recommendation to adjust some terms of the article for sensitivity reasons. The information and message of the article did not change because of that.
