Medical Design Briefs - July 2023 - 14

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Motors/Motion Control/Robotics
Enchanted Tools:
Revolutionizing Robotics with Mirokai
H
ow can we fully integrate robots
into our daily lives in the near
future? This challenge is currently
being addressed by
French startup Enchanted Tools. Founded
by Jérôme Monceaux, who had already
helped create the robots Pepper
and Nao, Enchanted Tools recently unveiled
Miroki, the prototype of a new
generation of humanoid robots that are
both wondrous and useful.
Miroki is the name of an endearing
robot character. Half-child, half-animal,
this little fox-like creature from outer
space has been given an extra element of
soul, with a strong backstory and convincing
character design, developed with
the help of French animation expertise.
Ultimately, Miroki could be used in the
medical sector, in hospitality, or in airports,
to relieve personnel of exhausting
logistical tasks.
Because they believe that robotics can
re-introduce a touch of enchantment to
the world, rather than dehumanizing it,
the teams at Enchanted Tools aim to revolutionize
robotics by improving the acceptability
of robots to promote their
large-scale adoption. This article looks at
the origins of a project that is ambitious
in many respects, and one in which maxon
is proud to participate.
Mirokai: Robots with a Backstory
Far, far away in the cosmos, there is a
planet inhabited by benevolent beings
who have achieved a state of harmony.
These creatures of light, the Mirokai,
have guided humanity along the path of
otherness since the dawn of time. From
cave paintings to the first writings and
melodies, they have inspired us down
through the centuries. Now, for the first
time, one of them has passed through the
portal that separates our two worlds to
come to our aid in person. " I'm not perfect,
but I'll do my best, " Miroki solemnly
declares in a presentation video, before
jumping into space and entering our reality.
His spirit then slips into a kind of
spacesuit: the robot prototype developed
by Enchanted Tools. Now Miroki has
come into our lives.
To create social bonds and a sense of
unity, people have always told stories to
each other. With this in mind, Enchanted
Tools pooled the creativity of animation
experts and industrial designers to change
how we think about robots. " With this approach,
we were able to create a robot
with personality, a robot with a depth that
no machine has ever had. This is a disruptive
and innovative approach to robot design, "
says Monceaux, CEO of Enchanted
Tools. In addition to creating a backstory,
Enchanted Tools also asked artists to animate
Miroki's face. The interactive facial
expressions are video-projected and animated
in real time. The startup worked
with Gaumont to bring the Mirokai universe
to life on the big screen.
By means of simple voice instructions, Miroka (the orange girl shown here) and Miroki (the yellow boy, not
shown) will be able to carry out tasks to make people's lives significantly easier. (Credit: Enchanted Tools)
ECi 40 motors with planetary gearboxes were chosen
for the ball bot. (Credit: Maxon)
The team chose 22-mm diameter brushless motors
from the ECX Torque range for use on the other axes.
(Credit: Maxon)
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Miroki: The Perfect Balance Between the
Strange and the Familiar
Have you heard of the uncanny valley
concept? Developed by roboticist Masahiro
Mori, it refers to the sense of unease
that we feel when confronted with a humanoid
creation that looks too much
like a human. The idea is that the more
similar a robot is to a human being, the
more freakish its imperfections seem to
us. Conversely, when a robot is sufficiently
non-humanoid, it is the human features
that catch our attention and incline
us to empathize with something
that is clearly identifiable as a machine.
By merging human features (two arms
and a head) with an animal feature (long
Medical Design Briefs, July 2023

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Medical Design Briefs - July 2023

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