Kuri, the Nimble Companion Robot

Client

Mayfield Robotics

Practice Areas

Industrial

Core Disciplines

Overview

Mayfield Robotics collaborated with Triple Ring to design and develop an optical guidance system for Kuri, a home companion robot designed to safely navigate and interact within household environments. The system required advanced sensing capabilities to support navigation, hazard detection, and environmental awareness.

The resulting optical platform integrated multiple sensing technologies into a compact architecture capable of supporting simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) while meeting strict safety and cost requirements for consumer deployment.

Challenge

Kuri required a sophisticated optical system capable of performing multiple functions, including hazard detection, navigation, and real-time environmental mapping. The system needed to maintain high performance in dynamic home environments while remaining safe for use around humans and pets.

Additionally, the integrated optics needed to meet strict eye-safety certification requirements and support reliable operation under consumer use conditions. Designing this system required combining complex optical components within a compact and manufacturable architecture while meeting aggressive launch timelines.

Kuri, the Nimble Companion Robot

Overview

Mayfield Robotics collaborated with Triple Ring to design and develop an optical guidance system for Kuri, a home companion robot designed to safely navigate and interact within household environments. The system required advanced sensing capabilities to support navigation, hazard detection, and environmental awareness.

The resulting optical platform integrated multiple sensing technologies into a compact architecture capable of supporting simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) while meeting strict safety and cost requirements for consumer deployment.

Challenge

Kuri required a sophisticated optical system capable of performing multiple functions, including hazard detection, navigation, and real-time environmental mapping. The system needed to maintain high performance in dynamic home environments while remaining safe for use around humans and pets.

Additionally, the integrated optics needed to meet strict eye-safety certification requirements and support reliable operation under consumer use conditions. Designing this system required combining complex optical components within a compact and manufacturable architecture while meeting aggressive launch timelines.

Client

Mayfield Robotics

Practice Areas

Industrial

Core Disciplines

AI & Advanced Algorithms Mechanical Engineering Transfer to Manufacture Optical Science Photonics & Imaging

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A front and side view of Kuri, a modern, anthropomorphic robot with a black and white color scheme, accompanied by a charging dock.

Diagram highlighting the different beams used by a Kuri's optical system for navigation and obstacle detection.

An illustration of Kuri's optical sensor's operation, showing the emission and detection of light beams for distance measurement and environmental mapping.

Solution

Triple Ring applied deep expertise in optical system design and robotics integration to develop a navigation system capable of supporting safe and reliable robot operation. The development effort focused on integrating advanced sensing technologies into a scalable and cost-effective architecture.

Engineering efforts included:

Designing pulsed vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) array systems supporting depth sensing
Developing panoramic annular lens configurations enabling wide-area environmental awareness
Integrating time-of-flight imaging sensor arrays for real-time distance measurement
Engineering optical subsystems compliant with stringent eye-safety requirements
Supporting system-level integration and validation to meet cost, performance, and production goals

Optical subassembly of Kuri's robotic visual system, black plastic housing with lenticular clear plastic, PCBa, lens, and other optics.

Outcome

Triple Ring delivered an optical navigation system that exceeded cost and performance requirements while achieving certification for eye safety and compliance with UL 3300 standards. The system enabled reliable navigation and safe operation within home environments.

The completed optical system supported the successful commercial launch of Kuri, with hundreds of units delivered to customers. The design generated multiple patent filings and contributed to Kuri being named Best in Show at CES 2017 by leading technology publications.

Triple Ring Talent

The Story Behind the Innovation

At Triple Ring, we draw on a deep bench of expertise across diverse disciplines matched to each innovation challenge. For this project, our team combined optical system design, VCSEL and time-of-flight sensing, robotics integration, and consumer safety certification expertise to develop a compact, eye-safe optical navigation system capable of supporting simultaneous localization, mapping, and hazard detection in dynamic home environments.

Todd collaborated with many talented colleagues across Triple Ring and Mayfield Robotics on this project.

A portrait of Todd Harris, a man with glasses wearing a black shirt against a grey background.

Todd Harris, PhD

Physics & Optical Science

Dr. Todd Harris applies expertise in optics and imaging physics to the development of advanced sensing and illumination technologies. His work combines optical modeling with system design, helping teams translate complex physical principles into dependable, high-performance solutions.