[CES] Former Google employee launches the Keecker, an immersive robot experience for the home

Pierre Lebeau, a former Google employee, is introducing a new product called Keecker. It’s a home robot that can move from one room to another to keep your media content mobile inside the home. The Keecker has a powerful sound system and a projector integrated so he can project your photos on the wall, a Skype conversation on the terrace or bring music to the dining room.

Looking at the problem of multiple wires and complicated setups at home to move our content around the house, Pierre thought of how could we break loose from the TV screen, without compromising on sound and image size & quality. The concept has some striking similarities with Orange’s recently announced Block device, which is a mobile projector for the home that can be connected to computers and other media types the same way as it connects to Orange’s TV service.

Now the Keecker is a real robot, meaning that he responds to your commands through a smartphone. This greatly increases its functionality, for example you ask the Keecker to take some snapshots around the house when you’re away for surveillance purposes. Considering that it’s an “independent” robot it really holds true the purpose of eliminating wires and reducing complexity – you just call it and the projection arrives.

On top of multimedia capabilities the Keecker has plenty of sensors like temperature and air quality but looking at all the connected devices that bring these functions I wonder if this is still a feature. Looking at the size of the Keecker I am sure it was not designed with Parisian apartments in mind, although it has soft edges and a round look it feels quite bulky to have around the house.

How will all this goodness cost you? Pierre said he is launching a crowdfunding campaign to finance the project and he pointed out the price of 4.000€ to buy a Keecker. With this kind of money you could also buy a very good TV projector and setup a small cinema room at your house. It’s all about media consumption but even if the Keecker aims to bring you content around the house without compromising quality, you won’t have the same experience as you have in a fixed image projection setup. But then again, only the Keecker allows you to have a starry sky in your kid’s room ceiling.

The Keecker really puts the multi in media, it’s a new way to connect with the digital around us. Imagine being on a Skype video conversation and the projection will follow you around the house. Or waking up with images of the great outdoors on your ceiling, which then shows you your agenda for the day while you have breakfast. It’s a new immersive experience for the home. Being Pierre a former Google employee I wonder how much is he familiar with the company’s robotic plans for the future. I imagine how cool would be to have such a robot integrated with Google services, voice search and commands, Google Now, Youtube streaming, gaming apps and what not.