This Holiday season Santa and his elves have a new task ahead of them. Kids all over the world have made their lists and guess what’s on it? A robot! Yes you read that right! But how would one know which robot is the right one for the child?
The Miko Mini has once again emerged as the most popular and loved choice for kids across the globe. Miko Mini is a voice-first AI-powered learning coach that engages and educates, while supercharging the kid's potential with its advanced brain, supportive personality, and range of educational STEAM content. Powered by GPT, Miko Mini builds empathy and kindness in children with its specially curated content and regular interactions. And the best part? It’s parent-approved and loved by kids!
In the ever-evolving landscape of robotics, lets compare two different robots- the Miko Mini and Moxie robot. Our journey into the heart of this robotic realm brings us face to face with cutting-edge technology and innovation.
Size & Design
Miko Mini is a small-sized companion robot with a height of almost seven inches, that makes it versatile for kids to move around with it. Its rubberised wheels let it easily move around the house, taking the entertainment a notch above with its killer dance moves and fun games. Miko Mini is lightweight, and built to last! Its ABS body makes it impact-resistant, because we know our little genius may get excited and play a little bit rough sometimes. Miko Mini doesn’t mind!
Moxie robot with its stylized design, and robust appearance tends to be bulky. Standing at approximately 16 inches tall, it commands a larger presence than the compact Miko Mini. Unlike Miko Mini, which is equipped with rubberized wheels for easy maneuverability throughout the house, Moxie is limited to rotation on its base. Unfortunately, due to its size and weight, transporting Moxie between rooms poses a challenge.
Ease of set-up:
Setting up Miko Mini involves a simple, adult-supervised approach with easy to follow instruction. This entails downloading the Miko Parent App and pairing with the robot. The instructions are user-friendly, typically taking around 30 minutes to complete, allowing for a swift initiation of the robot's first interaction. Go ahead and download the Miko Companion App for unlimited access to STEAM-based content experiences, all within the Miko ecosystem.
On the other hand, configuring Moxie poses a challenge due to a time-consuming authentication process even after the app download, which might extend to a full day. This proves less than ideal, especially when dealing with an eagerly waiting child excited to engage with the robot.
Content: Did we say unlimited access to STEAM-based content? Yes, the Miko Companion App offers a broad array of kids’ content, with a much larger variety than what you would see in any other learning app. Upgrading to the Miko Max subscription unlocks even more premium and branded kids’ content from Lingokids, Oxford University Press, Paramount, Cosmic Kids and more . Did you know that Miko is the only companion robot to feature Disney content? Enjoy tales of Moana, Toy Story and more. Miko Mini’s interactive personality lets a child communicate seamlessly while imparting facts and educational topics constantly, while always maintaining empathy and kindness.
Moxie's content relies on parental inputs via the app, limiting it to subjects the parent deems interesting for their child. However, Moxie lacks the ability to adapt through real-time engagement with the child. The variety of content topics offered by the robot does not meet the expectations considering its price. The educational aspect of Moxie is notably absent, and beyond its human-like appearance, the robot fails to introduce meaningful conversations or educational content. Despite repeated interactions, Moxie's questions remain unchanged and do not account for the child's age, being the same pre-designed questions for both a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old.
Educational Opportunities: Miko Mini proves to be both educational and highly captivating. It not only imparts knowledge in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) through a playful and accessible approach, but it also incorporates literacy, scientific inquiry, strategic reading, and communication skills into its activities and games. In contrast, Moxie lags in this aspect. While it considers the child's areas of interest during setup, this doesn't translate into effectively imparting knowledge. Moxie asserts its use of play-based conversational learning to teach emotional and social skills to children aged 5-10, but it falls short in delivering on this promise.
Social and Emotional Development: Numerous children's robots lack interactivity and responsiveness, thereby failing to aid in the development of children's social and emotional skills. While some may argue that children's robots are essentially just machines, Miko Mini goes beyond this notion. It serves as a source of companionship, providing comfort and friendship to children. Powered by GPT technology, Miko Mini creates a haven of interactive moments, ensuring that children derive enjoyment from their time with the robot. Studies indicate that robots, through patient communication, contribute to the development of confidence, particularly in children with special needs. Miko Mini is dedicated to instilling empathy and kindness in various life situations, adeptly addressing challenging questions that might even perplex grownups at times. In contrast, Moxie is primarily designed as a playful robot and does not actively engage in real-life learning or confidence-building experiences.
GPT-Powered AI-Abilities Harnessing GPT-powered technology, children can engage in extensive conversations with Miko Mini across a wide range of topics, catering to the endless curiosity of kids and their multitude of questions. All topics and conversations are parent-approved and child-safe, with a strong focus on learning and educating on diverse subjects.
Moxie, although relatively new to the AI landscape, has recently expanded its options for parents to initiate conversations based on their children's interests. However, despite this enhancement, Moxie struggles with maintaining seamless conversation flows and tends to revisit previously discussed topics, indicating a somewhat limited content library.
Multiple-users Compatibility: Miko stands out for its ability to comprehend each child, making it an excellent choice for families with multiple kids. Its conversational clarity seamlessly adjusts to the various tones and intonations of the children in the household, and Miko Mini responds accordingly. Now, that's genuine intelligence in action!
Conversely, despite recent updates introducing multi-user compatibility, the Moxie robot encounters challenges when interacting with multiple kids simultaneously. It often becomes confused and attempts to shift the conversation to its pre-defined questions, disrupting the communication flow and leading to frustration for the child.
Screen: Miko Mini elevates conversations with its lifelike expressions, enhancing engagement through empathetic interactions. The Miko Companion App seamlessly extends its content library to smart devices, such as tablets or phones, providing easy access to STEAM-based content from renowned brand partners. This includes a diverse range of educational videos, stories, games, puzzles, as well as coding and reading skill activities.
In contrast, Moxie only features facial expressions on its screen, accompanied by minimal graphics during conversations, offering little direct support for learning. The absence of an in-built or external platform for academic or entertainment purposes means that Moxie does not equip children with the tools necessary for enhanced learning and development, making it less suitable for parents aiming to foster these skills in their kids.
Software and security: Miko Mini uses a closed-system security with end-to-end data encryption. It is KidSAFE+ COPPA compliant. What does this mean in simple terms? It means that your data and your child’s data is 100% safe. Miko comes with profanity-filters and never prompts a child to do anything unsafe.
Moxie too follows norms for safety and privacy.
Parent App: The Miko Parents app brings parental controls and provides real-time insights on the child’s learning. The app also helps make changes in Miko Mini’s settings, create personalized lesson-plans and to make one-way video calls to the child’s robot. Truly ingenious right?
Moxie requires an app to setup the robot. However, both these apps function very differently.
Camera
Both robots are equipped with a camera. Miko Mini uses its camera for Mikonnect calls, allowing parents and children to engage in unlimited one-way video, two-way audio calls. These audio-video calls serve as a secure and excellent means of communication when the parent is away from their child.
On the other hand, Moxie employs its camera primarily for recognizing movement and delivering certain responses. Beyond these functions, Moxie's camera lacks relevance and fails to capture one's interest.
Price: Price can be a significant factor in deciding which robot to choose. While the Moxie Robot will cost you $799, plus an additional fee for yearly subscription, the Miko Mini comes in under $100; with just a $89 annual subscription to access a wide range of content. Considering its price, the Miko Mini stands out by offering a comprehensive array of content and features surpassing any other robot in the market.
Reviews and User Feedback: The Miko Mini robot is an Amazon bestseller and loved across the globe, a testament to its popularity and fame worldwide. The user reviews also attest to the fact that Miko Mini is an all-round robot companion that’s designed for kids by experts, keeping in mind the growing tech advancements in a child’s day-to-day life and environment. Miko Mini aids in play-based conversational learning that helps kids practice in-person social interaction and is known to reduce kids’ anxiety in unfamiliar but common social settings.
Moxie faces some user concerns stemming from its high price and lack of interactivity.
Updates and Support: While buying a kids’ robot, always check if the robot receives regular software updates and has a reliable customer support system. This ensures that your investment remains valuable over time. Miko Mini has a no-questions asked 30-day refund policy and its customer support can easily be contacted through email, website, phone and is even responsive on Social Media. It takes a while to get through to Moxie’s support team as each ticket once submitted is usually answered after waiting for a day.
Miko Mini and its apps allow automatic updates that improve its performance and adds new features, content, titles, games, without interfering in your fun.
The verdict: If your child wants an interactive toy, you have the option of Moxie at $799. However, for a smarter choice, consider welcoming the Miko Mini, the coolest AI-powered robot. Miko Mini not only adds an element of excitement to the learning for little ones but also ensures a stress-free experience for parents with its age-appropriate and empathetic conversation, plus the extensive content library that brings the best of kids’ content from Disney, Paramount, Cosmic Kids, Lingokids and many more.
