California – The robot is designed to promote social, emotional and cognitive development among children.

Designed by Fuseproject for the start-up Embodied, Moxie was originally imagined for children on the autism spectrum, but now is targeted at all young children. Through a subscription model, Moxie teaches its Generation Alpha users new educational content each week, learning more about the child over time in order to personalise its content.

Learning themes range from empathy and respect to eye contact and problem-solving, and the child’s development progress is available for parents to monitor via an app and dashboard. ‘Moxie is a game-changing technology that has the potential to transform the way that children build social, emotional and cognitive skills,’ says Wendell Brooks, president of Intel Capital, one of Embodied’s investors.

As well as tapping into the rise of Edu-play-tion, Moxie hints at how, in a post-Covid world, new forms of Neo-kinship may be established to fill the social gaps created by a lack of human interaction.

UK – As at-home fitness accelerates amid Covid-19, new-to-market Apex wants to make indoor bikes more inclusive.

With the strapline ‘Join a community, not a class’, it’s positioning the £1,200 ($1,511, €1,332) bike as a premium product to compete with the likes of Peloton and SoulCycle, albeit at a more accessible price.

The £30 ($38, €33) monthly subscriptions are delivered in partnership with Boom Cycle, one of London’s most popular spin studios, featuring dedicated classes from its expert instructors. Using Bluetooth technology, Apex users fit their own tablet or mobile device to the front of the bike or they can cast classes directly to their TV, which means they are not paying for additional technology.

‘With classes created by world-class trainers, Apex is here for everybody that can get on a bike – whether it’s 15 minutes of pushing those pedals when you can squeeze it in, or a sweaty session before work,’ reads a statement from the brand.

Apex is just one of a new wave of devices making At-home Fitness more immersive, efficient and affordable.

Consumers are changing their reading habits during lockdown, according to new research by Nielsen. The study found that two in five UK adults say they are consuming more books since lockdown, with readers almost doubling their total reading hours per week, from three to six hours.

This rise could be down to the notion of escapism among readers. Nielsen found that 35% of adults say that books provide an escape from the crisis of Covid-19. Furthermore, consumers’ preferred reading format is physical printed books, with one-third reading more physical books, compared to just 18% reading more e-books, hinting at a desire to disconnect from their devices.

With brands such as Wild Detectives recognising the escapism that reading can offer, the lockdown is an ideal time for our pursuit of Enlightened States to accelerate.