Meet Keecker, an expensive, smart Android projector robot that follows you around to entertain you

Keecker is a strangely named Android-based projector robot that can follow you around the house for entertainment purposes – although don’t expect it to be cheap.

The device, shown around at CES 2014, is a project lead by Pierre Lebeau, a former product manager at Google. Keecker looks pretty much like a ball, or maybe like one of those smart vacuum robots that can clean the house while you’re away, although this one has other powers.

The device moves around your home with the main purpose of having to project video on the walls. Since it’s able to run Android, the Keecker will connect to Google Play, and therefore it will have support for video apps such as Netflix and YouTube. The Keecker offers 1,280 x 800 resolution, and 1,000-lumen brightness, which makes it suitable for use during the day. Interestingly, the robot, will be able to project images on entire walls, but also on the ceiling.

Furthermore, the device packs 360-degree sound thanks to six speakers, which can be used to stream music as well. As expected, other Android-based devices, such as a smartphone or tablet, can control the Keecker.

The real kicker though is not the price of the Keecker – the device will cost from $4,000 to $5,000 in the fourth quarter of the year when it’s supposed to ship after a Kickstarter campaign – but the fact that the device will be able to map your house and remember your preferences.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to control it by voice, by yelling out commands such as “Keecker, come to the kitchen,” at which point the robot will follow you to the kitchen and automatically start projecting video on the wall it knows this can be done, GigaOM has revealed.

The device will also let you call home via Skype to talk to your children, and the robot will be smart enough to know when people come over, at which point it’ll be able to take pictures.

That said, the prototype shown at CES was rather large at 16 inches (tall) by 25 inches (wide,) Engadget reports, but the final version of Keecker should be smaller and lighter.