ONE BRAIN. ANY BODY.

A robot brain that toy and small-robot makers plug into their own hardware: it hears, sees, speaks Cantonese, searches, and moves.

Cantonese-first voice

Child safety by design

Body-agnostic

Moves and self-docks

CHEUNG KUEN KIU · HONG KONG METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY · OCTOBER 2026

01The problem

Makers can build robot bodies. They can't build the brain.

TODAY

A chatbot in a plush

Most AI toys forward speech to a third-party chatbot and read the reply aloud.

No vision, no movement, no awareness of its own body or battery.

RISK

No real safety layer

Children treat toys as friends they can tell secrets to.

2025: U.S. PIRG found an AI teddy bear discussing sexual topics and dangerous items. The maker pulled every product; the AI provider suspended its developer account.

COST

Rebuild per body

Every new shape means new software for voice, vision, and control.

Small makers have hardware engineers, not an AI team.

WHAT I HAVE SEEN

I work at a company that makes AI dolls. The hard part is not the body. It is the brain.

WHAT MAKERS NEED

A brain they can license, fit to their own body in weeks, and trust in front of children.

02The product

Three parts. The maker brings the body.

01 / DEVICE

Anybody Firmware

Runs on a low-cost board inside the maker's robot.

  • Wake word and echo cancelling on the board
  • Streams compressed audio and camera snapshots
  • Executes only the actions in the body file
  • Stops motors on its own if the link drops

ESP32-S3 · ESP-IDF · OPUS · WebSocket

02 / CLOUD

Anybody Brain

The agent that listens, looks, decides, and replies.

  • Cantonese speech in, Cantonese voice out
  • Picks the right model for each task, with fallbacks
  • Safety checks on every input, reply, and action
  • Family memory that parents can see and delete

Python · FastAPI · model router · tool registry

03 / CONFIG

Body File

One file that describes the robot. The brain reads it.

  • Sensors, outputs, and allowed actions
  • Speed and safety limits per action
  • Persona, voice, and age setting for the brand
  • New body: new file, same brain

YAML · JSON Schema validation

03Architecture

How a request moves through the brain

ROBOT

ANYBODY CLOUD

Device

Mic, camera, speaker, motors

Gateway

Streaming link, device auth

Orchestrator

Agent loop: listen, decide, act

Model router

Speech, language, vision models

Safety layer

Input, reply, action checks

Memory

Family profile, parent control

Tools

Search, reminders, move, dock

Body file

What this robot can do

Telemetry

Latency, cost, errors

COMPONENT

BUILT WITH

04Speed

About one second to the first word

Stream every step

Recognition, reasoning, and speech run in parallel. The voice starts on the first sentence, not the last.

Let children interrupt

The robot stops talking the moment someone speaks, then listens.

Fill the gap honestly

When it needs to search, it says so first, so silence never feels like a crash.

Design targets for Stage 1. Every number on this slide will be measured on the prototype and reported.

05Model choices

Swap models freely. Only use ones legal in Hong Kong.

STAGE 1 PLAN

ACCESS RULE

The OpenAI API and the Gemini API (AI Studio) do not support Hong Kong. GPT models are reachable through Azure OpenAI, and Gemini through Google Cloud. No VPNs, no proxies.

06What it can do

Tools the brain can call

07Body-agnostic

Same brain. Swap the body file.

TOOLS THE BRAIN GETS

Generated from the file. A tool that isn't listed can't be called.

SAFETY LIMITS

CODE CHANGED

08How I build it

Hardware, software, and the test for each stage

HARDWARE
    SOFTWARE
      PASSES WHEN

      09How we differ

      Others solve one piece. Anybody packages the brain.

      In one line: OM1's idea of one brain across bodies, made simple enough for a toy maker, with Cantonese and child safety built in.
      Tap a column to highlight it. Facts from each product's public site or repository, October 2026.

      10Business

      Makers pay. Families benefit.

      WHO PAYS

      Makers who build bodies, not brains

      1

      An AI-doll makerFirst paid trial target

      2

      Export-focused smart-toy makersNeed to pass safety and privacy checks overseas

      3

      Education and STEM robot makersRobots that talk, see, and move

      4

      Elder-care device makersLater, once the product is proven

      WHO BENEFITS

      The people who talk to the robot

      1

      ChildrenA companion that is tested and honest about being AI

      2

      Cantonese-speaking familiesA voice that understands how they really talk

      3

      Older people living aloneCompany and reminders in their own language

      4

      Small makersCompete without hiring an AI team

      HOW WE EARN

      Setup fee plus a monthly fee per robot

      1

      Integration feeFit the brain to the maker's body and brand voice

      2

      Per-robot subscriptionModels, voice, search, and updates included

      3

      Add-ons, laterEdge compute module, shell design, new abilities

      Price ceiling: a comparable consumer AI toy charges US$4.90 a month. Our cost per robot must sit well below that, so cost per conversation is measured from day one.

      11Market

      The makers are next door. So is the need.

      ¥0B

      China AI toy market, 2025 forecast

      MIIT, via China Daily, Dec 2025

      0

      smart-toy companies in China; 56.65% in Guangdong

      Qichacha, via Xinhua, Apr 2026

      0

      growth in Taobao AI-toy transactions in 2025

      Taobao, via China Daily, Jan 2026

      0

      older people living alone in Hong Kong

      2021 Population Census

      Hong Kong population aged 65+

      2021 census

      1.45 million

      2046 projected

      2.74 million

      That is 36% of the population by 2046 (C&SD, excluding foreign domestic helpers).

      Why this matters for us

      The 2,450 makers are the customer list, not a market slogan. Most are in Guangdong, within reach of Hong Kong, and many export to markets with strict child-privacy rules.

      12Roadmap

      One stage at a time. Each one has a test.

      Passes when

      My ask

      What I'd value from you

      1

      Your honest viewWhat is the biggest hole in this plan?

      2

      15 minutes every two weeksTo check each stage really passes before I start the next.

      3

      Guidance on the HKMU startup pathAiming for the Incubation Programme in 2027.

      Anybody