by Zohra KhanPublished on : May 21, 2022

In times of flexible working where people could be professionally performing their roles from anywhere – be it the sterile workstations of co-working spaces, in a makeshift garage, or in the humdrum of their own home – the place you pin yourself to tick daily tasks off your to-do-list often become a boring solitary landscape you return to daily. With the idea to enliven this space with a companion – one who could keep you away from inconspicuously slipping into your mobiles – Energize Lab presents a little robot called Eilik, which is designed 'to bring endless fun to your desktop'.

What's different about Eilik, you may ask, that sets it apart from its precedents? As per the innovative startup, this desktop companion bot comes equipped with emotional intelligence that makes its interaction with people more reciprocative. Its creator, designer Shaw Yeung, describes it as a new kind of social robot that brings up a higher level of emotional interactions between humans and robots. For Yeung, the idea of the product was born from a childhood dream of having a robot friend, like “R2-D2 from Star Wars, Rodney from Robots, or Baymax from Big Hero 6,” he says. The key focus behind the genesis of Eilik was to fill what was missing in the development of such robots. Yeung adds, “Technology and robotics are advancing faster than ever: voice assistance, pattern recognition, service robots, educational robots, industrial robots...They are designed to provide information, do repetitive work to make our life more efficient. But something crucial is missing.” This gap was the lack of emotional assistance that Eilik responded to.

One could pat Eilik’s head, belly, or his back to enjoy how it responds in gentle squirms or projects eclectic moods on its OLED screen. Sometimes the robot configures an upset mood, and when one touches it in its state, the corresponding reflex appears on its face-like screen. Adding to this, "Eilik is always not so strong. He is afraid of heights so remember to come for comfort when he is upset. You need to keep an eye on him. He will play around when he is bored," shares Energize Lab in a video made to display the features of the robot. “In addition,” they add, "Eilik has lots of interesting things to do in his spare time, such as reading, fishing, and exercising. If putting Eiliks together, they will recognise each other, play, and build friendships just like us."

Behind Eilik’s sophisticated industrial design and vibrant features is a meticulous system. The device is composed of an OLED screen that displays the various animated expressions, a vibration motor and sensor, and three touch sensors and four EM3 servos. The size measures 108x105x133mm, and it weighs 230 grams. The flexible bodily features like arms and torso are made of high strength polycarbonate. Furthermore, Eilik comes with a 3W speaker for distinct robotic sounds; a USB-C port for daily charging; and an inbuilt 450 mAh Li-po battery that lasts for 1.5 hours when fully charged. Eilik isn’t required to be connected to an app, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. When there is no interaction with the robot, it automatically falls asleep to save battery.

Eilik is an initiative by Energize Lab, an innovative startup dedicated to creating a robot with soul and endless fun. Having their patented robot technology and animation experts, the company focuses on robotic technology and products, including robot joints, control systems, and consumer robot. Eilik was launched late last year as the company’s first companion robot through Kickstarter.

Writing, curation and research interest Zohra, who has over six years of experience in architecture and design media. A formal education in architecture combined with a keen interest in architectural journalism led her to professionally venture into this role.

Writing, curation and research interest Zohra, who has over six years of experience in architecture and design media. A formal education in architecture combined with a keen interest in architectural journalism led her to professionally venture into this role.

Paolo Castelli enhances its opulent palette with new and refreshing outdoor and indoor furniture collections, namely Greenkiss and Ipanema.

Safdie Architects create a landmark building in China’s Yuzhong district where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers converge.

The collection lays bare a mindful selection of natural surfaces, materials and graphic design.

Architect Aaron Stevens and DPN craft independent living spaces with intelligent design and home automation technology for people with different needs and different abilities.

by Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi Apr 04, 2022

get regular updates SIGN UP

© Copyright 2019-2022 STIR Design Private Limited. All rights reserved.

Or you can join with

Please confirm your email address and we'll send you a link to reset your password

with us and you can:

All your bookmarks will be available across all your devices from anywhere on the globe.

Or you can join with

Your preferences have been successfully saved to your profile.

Please select your profession for an enhanced experience.

Tap on things that interests you.

Select the Conversation Category you would like to watch

Please enter your details and click submit.