As robots continue their relentless march into our daily lives, a Redwood City-based startup is banking on the fact that parents around the world will be all too happy to pass off basic child-rearing duties to a tiny mechanical helper. Enter Kuri, the almost two-foot-tall "home robot" which Mayfield Robotics unveiled yesterday in Las Vegas and plans to start shipping this year. Unlike security bots, which have been accused of knocking children to the ground and running them over, the 14-pound Kuri is stylized as your child's best friend — and its creators hope that the bot is a step toward the robot-friendly future.

Unlike Amazon Echo or Google Home, Kuri doesn't talk. Instead, it uses a series of beeps and chirps to communicate. It also doesn't having a display screen — an intentional omission that the Business Times reports is intended to make it feel more like a family member. So what does it do? Well, it has cameras and speakers, and can use those features to watch and entertain your kids.

"Kuri's audio capabilities lets you listen to your favorite songs, audiobooks and podcasts," the company explains. "You can even send her into your kids' room to tell a bedtime story." Or, if you want to keep things digital, Kuri will watch violent movies with your lonely child while you do something else.

Similar helper bots are in use around the Bay Area, though anything more advanced than a Roomba has mostly been confined to big box stores like Target and Lowe's — or running security for Uber. The makers of Kuri want to put similar technology into homes around the world, and, if AI butler-building Mark Zuckerberg is any indication, they're likely to find a market.

You can pre-order yours now, and never read a bedtime story to your kid again for the low price of $699.

Related: Security Robot Knocks Toddler To The Ground Then Runs Him Over At Stanford Shopping Center