Powered by Kardome’s Spatial Hearing AI, SK Networks’ NAMUHX air-purifier robot launches this month. Designed as a true ‘wellness robot,’ NAMUHX combines clean air with intelligent, natural voice interaction.
When SK Networks, along with appliance affiliate SK Magic, set out to build NAMUHX, its innovative air purifier robot, it wasn’t simply about creating a smart appliance. It was about reimagining how technology could interact with people in the home: listening, understanding, and adapting to human needs in real time. To bring that vision to life, SK partnered with Kardome, a pioneer in Spatial Hearing AI.
Launching in Korea this September, with plans to expand into the U.S. and Malaysia by December, NAMUHX is designed as a “wellness robot,” combining air purification with intelligent voice interaction. NAMUH is HUMAN spelled backwards, emphasizing the company’s human-centric approach to its technology.
While looking to integrate a large language model solution for its robot purifier, SK Manager Yongjae Choi said, “We found Kardome's Spatial Hearing AI and Cognition AI solution capabilities to be incredibly appealing."
Key components of Kardome’s Spatial Hearing used by SK are the audio front-end and direction of arrival models, while from the Cognition AI package, SK is using Kardome’s Wake Detection model.
"The ability to handle constant signal changes from a moving robot with Kardome's Spatial Hearing technology is a key advantage."
The company’s choice was crucial to its vision of an AI-focused wellness robot that can truly speak, listen, and understand the human voice.
What makes NAMUHX stand apart from traditional smart devices is its ability to interact with users in dynamic environments effectively. Unlike classical signal processing methods, such as beamforming, which struggle when a device is moving, Kardome’s Spatial Hearing solution, powered by AI, enables the robot to process constantly changing audio input smoothly, ensuring its performance shines even with NAMUHX on the move.
"The ability to handle constant signal changes from a moving robot with Kardome's Spatial Hearing technology is a key advantage," Choi said.
NAMUHX also uses Kardome’s Wake Detection, enabling the robot to respond to its own custom wake word, “Hi NAMUH.” This feature allows brands, and ultimately end users, to define unique wake words for their devices, enabling more personalized interaction and brand distinction.
Spatial Hearing AI: The Technology Behind the Experience
At the core of this partnership is Kardome’s industry-leading Spatial Hearing AI solution, which continuously maps the acoustic environment, separates voices from background noise, and assigns each part of a conversation to the correct speaker.
It allows devices not just to detect the direction of sound but also to pinpoint its exact location, improving accuracy, speed, and responsiveness while keeping all processing on the device for privacy.
This advanced feature results in a superior user experience for NAMUHX customers, allowing seamless voice control even as its devices move around the home, ultimately boosting product satisfaction and reducing support issues caused by voice command errors.
Why SK Chose Kardome
SK’s rigorous evaluation process revealed a critical gap in conventional voice AI solutions for moving robots. As Manager Choi explains, “With conventional beamforming alone, it would have been very difficult to develop a robot that can understand users while moving 360 degrees.”
This fundamental challenge, common across the smart device industry, is precisely what Kardome's Spatial Hearing AI was engineered to overcome, making it the clear choice for NAMUHX.
The Future of Wellness: Voice Biometrics and Cognition AI
SK’s vision for wellness robots extends far beyond current capabilities. They are committed to integrating advanced voice AI into their line of smart wellness devices for comprehensive health management and user behavior analysis.
Today, NAMUHX combines air purification with vision AI to analyze health conditions; for example, measuring blood pressure or blood oxygen through facial recognition. But SK has tasked Kardome with exploring an even more ambitious frontier: using voice as a health signal.
By analyzing subtle cues in speech—tone, cadence, or vocal biomarkers—future wellness robots could detect stress, fatigue, or emotional state, providing a richer picture of user health. This ties directly into SK’s focus on personalized wellness management.
Looking ahead, SK is particularly enthusiastic about Kardome’s Voice ID product, which would allow robots to distinguish between individuals and deliver tailored experiences.
The company is also exploring Kardome’s Cognition AI solution, which would go beyond recognition to interpret user intent and emotion. Together, these technologies could transform NAMUHX and future devices into genuine companions, robots that don’t just respond to commands but understand context, mood, and personal needs.
“We are interested in analyzing voice data more deeply to understand user intent and emotions, exploring new features and solutions with Kardome's voice AI,” Choi said.
A Partnership Built on Collaboration
While technology is at the heart of the partnership, both teams highlight the collaboration itself as a differentiator.
Said Choi, “Kardome’s R&D team has shown a level of dedication we rarely see. They brainstorm solutions with us daily and have been deeply committed to making this product a success.”
Kardome CEO Dani Cherkassky echoed the sentiment: “Working with SK has been incredibly rewarding. Their vision for wellness robotics aligns perfectly with our mission to make voice AI truly intelligent and human-centric. This partnership demonstrates how combining innovation with close collaboration can bring groundbreaking products to life.”
For OEMs in the consumer electronics industry, this partnership offers a glimpse of what’s possible when advanced voice AI meets forward-thinking product design. It’s not simply about voice commands—it’s about creating devices that understand, adapt, and connect with people in ways that feel natural and intuitive.
As SK and Kardome continue to push the boundaries of what voice AI can do, NAMUHX stands as a powerful proof point: the future of consumer technology will be conversational, contextual, and deeply personal.
