GoKawiilMatic has added voice and gesture control to its robot vacuum and mop through a software update called Matic Cues. After testing both features, the short and sweet of it is that voice control is really good.
Just say, “Hey Matic, vacuum the kitchen,” and Matic gets to work. There is no phone to unlock, app to open, or smart home intermediary involved. You speak directly to the robot, and it responds.
Matic Cues understands commands in more than 70 spoken languages. The feature is rolling out to every existing Matic through an over-the-air software update and will be included on all new robots.
Matic co-founder Mehul Nariyawala describes the feature as nine years in the making.
The team began pursuing natural voice and gesture interaction when Matic was founded in 2017, produced its first demonstration in fall 2018, and has now made the technology available using the hardware already inside customers’ homes.
“A truly intelligent robot should learn how humans naturally communicate, instead of asking humans to learn yet another interface,” Nariyawala tells 9to5Mac.
That ambition extends beyond convenience for app-savvy adults. Matic Cues is designed so children, grandparents, visitors, and people who do not speak English can operate the robot without learning another interface.
In Matic’s framing, the update “untethers” families from the app for everyday cleaning. The app remains excellent when you want precise control, schedules, maps, or cleaning history. Routine jobs, however, can now begin with a sentence.
Voice control feels fast and natural
Matic’s voice control is powered by Google Gemini, which is especially interesting following Google’s work with Apple to modernize Siri.
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