Even Kuri's feet are improving. Instead of conventional drive wheels, Mayfield is switching to belt treads. They're quieter, more maneuverable and better-suited to driving over rugs and room-to-room threshholds.

The bot is still expensive at $699, and it remains to be seen how well it'll work in practice. Having said that, it's only so often that you'll see companies upgrading hardware (let alone a robot) before a single unit has shipped -- if nothing else, this is a promising sign.