{"id":422048,"date":"2025-12-03T15:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T15:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/422048\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T15:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T15:22:12","slug":"mirumi-the-furry-companion-robot-is-now-available-on-kickstarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/422048\/","title":{"rendered":"Mirumi the furry companion robot is now available on Kickstarter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Among a sea of new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2025\/1\/7\/24338520\/lg-stanbyme-2-portable-tv-carrying-strap-ces-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TVs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2025\/1\/5\/24332998\/roborock-saros-z70-robot-vacuum-omnigrip-arm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robovacs<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2025\/1\/5\/24334030\/halliday-smart-glasses-ai-tiny-display-frame-availability-price-ces\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">smart glasses<\/a>, Yukai Engineering\u2019s Mirumi was a unique standout at CES 2025 earlier this year. The tiny robot has no practical purpose other than looking adorable and bringing a smile to people\u2019s faces by simulating an inquisitive personality. The company planned to release the companion bot sometime in mid-2025, but mere weeks before the year ends Mirumi is finally available for preorder through a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/yukaienginnering\/mirumi-a-charm-robot-that-steals-a-glance-and-your-heart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Yukai Engineering originally expected Mirumi to be priced at around $70, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/tech\/607947\/donald-trump-tariffs-china-mexico-canada-explainer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a lot has happened<\/a> around the world since January, and the tiny bot will actually cost about twice that. The earliest Kickstarter backers can preorder Mirumi with gray, pink, or ivory fur for 18,360 yen, or around $118 with discounts. If you drag your feet, the crowdfunding pricing will end up at 21,803 yen, or around $140, but that\u2019s still discounted from the full retail pricing, which is expected to be $150.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Following the Kickstarter there will be a bit more waiting, as Mirumi isn\u2019t expected to ship until April 2026 at the earliest, but as with any crowdfunded product, it\u2019s not a bad idea to brace yourself for delays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Instead of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/22997597\/best-robot-vacuum-cleaner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cleaning floors<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/reviews\/661136\/robot-lawnmowers-husqvarna-navimow-mammotion-dreame-head-to-head\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mowing your lawn<\/a>, Mirumi is positioned as a companion robot, but one that will benefit others more often. Using a long pair of arms the robot attaches to bag straps or handles and appears to curiously look around by turning and cocking its head from side to side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Using a distance sensor Mirumi can also detect nearby people and appear to focus its gaze and attention on them, but will also simulate the bashful response of an infant by shaking and turning its head away when someone suddenly appears or touches it. Mirumi isn\u2019t overpacked with functionality, and that could be its biggest appeal. It just hangs out with you and quietly watches the world go by while occasionally brightening someone\u2019s day with just a look.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Among a sea of new TVs, robovacs, and smart glasses, Yukai Engineering\u2019s Mirumi was a unique standout at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":422049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[705,12491,50,104421,242,158,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-422048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-gadgets","9":"tag-kickstarter","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-robot","12":"tag-tech","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}