White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter: AI-driven motion-tracking lighting system - Interview

We spoke with the creator of the White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter to understand how this ambitious 3-in-1 system came to life. Combining dynamic lighting, panoramic vision, and smart audio into a single ceiling-mounted device, White rabbit is designed to rethink how people interact with indoor environments. During our conversation, the team shared how the concept traces back to early research, years of prototyping, and a vision shaped by design, science-fiction influences, and the emerging era of AI-driven interaction. Their answers reveal the engineering challenges, privacy principles, and material breakthroughs that define this next-generation automation system.

Reimagining Home Automation: The Birth of the White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter

What first sparked the idea behind the White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter, and how did your team merge lighting, audio, and 360° vision into one unified device?

Our team began by providing design and technology consulting for international brands, and this idea has been developing for a very long time. Its earliest roots trace back to my graduation project and research at Central Saint Martins many years ago, where the first concept of white rabbit started to take shape and has continued evolving ever since. It is a synthesis of design, technology, sci-fi culture, and business.

As we entered the age of industrial civilization, our daily lives became inseparable from electronic devices. From the analog to the digital era, each technological leap has reshaped the form of these devices — and in turn, these mediums have influenced our spatial environments, culture, and even our attention. Today, we stand on the verge of an AI-driven future, a new paradigm that we believe will fundamentally transform how we interact with everyday electronic products.

From the very beginning of this project, we carried this vision: to create a new generation of future-oriented consumer electronics shaped by this coming shift. Today, our smartphones pull all of our attention downward—but we rarely look up and realize how much potential is hidden above us. In every home and workspace, lighting, security cameras, and speakers already exist in the room, and almost all of them live overhead. Yet traditionally, we’ve had to buy each device separately, run cables, install different systems, and hope they work together.

But the way we use our rooms has changed. In a mobile era, one room might need to serve many different purposes: work, relaxation, creation, communication. Traditional devices were never designed for this kind of flexibility. So we asked a simple question: What if one device could replace all of those overhead electronics—plug-and-play, no wiring—and unlock completely new interactions by combining them?

To imagine its form, we turned to science fiction. Films like Dune, I, Robot, Baymax, Minority Report, and many others offered inspiration—not so much their visions of future societies, but the way they portray intelligent devices moving and interacting within indoor spaces. These ideas became powerful references for us. And that’s what we decided to build: a dynamic overhead device that moves with you and transforms how you experience your space. White rabbit is our first step toward this future.

Dynamic Motion Meets Intelligent Lighting

Rabbit moves along an airpath and follows users in real time. What were the biggest engineering challenges in building a responsive, ceiling-mounted lighting system that adapts to human movement?

First of all, nothing like this has ever existed before—which made it our biggest challenge. We had to define everything from scratch: its functions, structure, movement, installation, and power delivery. There were no references. At one point, we even imagined a floating device or a drone, but with today’s technology, those ideas weren’t practical. The device needed to work seamlessly in any interior, run quietly, remain stable, and be easy to install.

Our design process began with observing human behavior. From Europe to the United States to Asia, we explored countless spaces. Indoor movement might look complex, but it can actually be mapped linearly. Most lighting activity in a room occurs in one or two zones: door to sofa, sofa to desk, desk to another door. Behind these pathways are countless overlapping curves—like a “hot-zone” analysis. White rabbit occupies the most frequently used path. This insight helped define its initial form: a structure supported by just two fixed points.

It may seem unusual at first, but once you see and experience it, it feels incredibly natural. We executed this concept with a clean, elegant design.

Our references range from Italian design icons—most notably the Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos—to the functional clarity of studio track lighting. Design lovers will recognize traces of these aesthetics in White rabbit.

The airpath track is modular and plug-in, available in two colors, making installation simple and adaptable to different room sizes. Inside White rabbit, there’s no battery—we wanted to avoid constant recharging. Instead, it draws power through sliding electrodes that connect with the safe low-voltage rails on both sides of the airpath. Just plug it into one end of the foot, and it works—just as easily as a TV or refrigerator.

When it comes to software, we faced yet another challenge. Integrating lighting, 360° panoramic cameras, smart voice assistants, motion tracking, gesture control, AI learning and memory, mobile apps, and cloud services—all running seamlessly on a single device—required enormous time and effort. At the heart of this integration is computer vision interaction. 

While AI remains a topic of debate today, its applications are undeniably creating entirely new kinds of experiences. In 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey predicted technological advances decades ahead of their time. One of the film’s most striking ideas was HAL — the onboard supercomputer with computer vision and natural language understanding, observing astronauts throughout the spacecraft. HAL marked a technological turning point: the computer could see and comprehend the world, evolving from a passive tool into an intelligent presence. In 2009, Microsoft introduced Kinect, a 3D motion-tracking camera that required no physical controllers, enabling direct and immersive interaction with digital environments.

We believe this is the future of interaction. Our team explored countless algorithms and embedded systems. Early on, we faced a difficult challenge: high-performance processors could run massive neural networks, like in autonomous vehicles, but their cost was prohibitive. How could we enable four high-frame-rate, high-precision cameras on a low-cost, low-power chip while maintaining real-time feedback? This challenge became the core of our R&D: balancing speed and accuracy, collecting and annotating data, reconstructing algorithms, and optimizing them. Our long journey of data collection and algorithm refinement continues to this day.

You don’t need to worry about all this complexity—but rabbit is always paying attention. Its real-time image processing allows it to track and understand your behavior from multiple angles, unlike traditional cameras. There is no “front” or “back”; it learns your movements, follows you naturally, and calculates the optimal position when multiple people are present.

Integrated light sensors maintain consistent brightness throughout your space. When you enter a room, the LEDs automatically illuminate; when you leave, they turn off. A simulated sunlight hue cycle gradually dims before bedtime, removing the need for manual switches. Gesture controls let you adjust the lighting with a simple wave of your hand.When you need precise control, a 3D interface in the app allows you to adjust each LED individually. Over time, rabbit learns your habits and adapts automatically. Whether for everyday use or professional lighting setups, rabbit adjusts effortlessly.

With multiple cameras and dual speakers, we’ve also enabled VR panoramic video with low latency and 2K resolution, making rabbit perfect for live streaming, music, entertainment, or security monitoring. Voice control further frees your hands during work. All of these new experiences come from rabbit’s innovative structure and revolutionary interaction design—a seamless combination of hardware, software, and AI.

Privacy by Design in an AI-Driven Device

With 360° cameras, local processing, and gesture-based controls, how did you balance advanced AI features with strong user privacy and offline capability?

This is actually one of our top priorities. During testing, almost every engineer on our team had a rabbit installed at home—including me. My unit was in my bedroom, and I practice nude sleeping, so you can imagine our concern about privacy. The idea that someone might secretly watch what we’re doing was very real.

That concern shaped our software architecture from the very beginning. All tracking and recognition happen locally on the device. The embedded models do not rely on data being transmitted to the cloud. This allows real-time recognition and feedback while completely avoiding any data transfer risks. Any temporary information generated during use is never stored, so even if the device is offline, most functions work perfectly. 

When you view panoramic video through your phone, rabbit gives an audible notification to indicate streaming is active. We also use standard encrypted transmission protocols to ensure that any image data is secure.

Most AI today relies heavily on data—either collected by developers or gathered from users—but very few devices give customers visibility into what’s being collected. We see this as a major problem. As we expand rabbit’s AI capabilities in the future, we will make data usage fully transparent: you’ll be able to see exactly what information rabbit has collected, and you can store or delete it at your discretion. Privacy isn’t just a feature—it’s a core product principle.

Crafting the Inflatable Shell and Carbon-Fiber Airpath

The soft inflatable shell and patented carbon-fiber airpath are unlike anything in home tech. What inspired this approach, and what breakthroughs were needed to make it reliable for everyday use?

As we mentioned earlier, interaction technology doesn’t just change how we use products—it changes their very form. Computer vision allows us to interact without touching objects, opening up endless possibilities for design. Naturally, this also requires manufacturing methods to evolve. Our goal has always been to create moments of surprise and delight for the user.

Researching materials proved far more challenging than we anticipated. What looks simple on the surface hides countless hours of effort. While soft robotics has been explored in industry, it has rarely appeared in consumer electronics. A flexible exterior is one of the most direct ways to break the cold, mechanical impression of a machine.

Early white rabbit designs included inflatable features to reduce weight, counteract leverage forces from hanging, and provide a soft, protective enclosure for the complex internal structure—while diffusing light evenly. An inflatable thin-film material was the ideal solution—but developing it was extremely difficult. From a distance, the device had to appear as a seamless “air balloon” with no visible seams, and the lighting had to be flawless, with no leakage. Many early prototypes could only be made one at a time, and even then, we didn’t know how to seal or install them reliably.

We tested dozens of materials—virtually every elastic and non-elastic polymer available, multiple thin-film types, and over a dozen forming processes. For a 400mm product, the shall had to be under 0.7mm thick, perfectly uniform, seamless, and formed in one piece. Achieving this required large-scale molds with extremely high precision. After countless failures, we finally succeeded on the eighth mold iteration.

The airpath is defined by a few key principles: it’s a tool-free installation system, low-cost, flexible, capable of safely delivering high-voltage power, and integrates a two-point-supported suspended track. Most importantly, it had to look beautiful—both as a single segment and when installed in a room.

During early design, we experimented with various materials, but ultimately, only carbon fiber met all our requirements. We visited numerous suppliers seeking collaboration, but at the time, no carbon fiber manufacturer was willing to take the risk on a product with no sales history—especially since we couldn’t afford high manufacturing costs.

After nearly two years of design iteration, hundreds of prototype tests, and extensive computer simulations, the world’s first airpath was born in the factory. It is made from composite fibers, available in fiber black and wall matte white, and weighs only 220g on average. Segments can be joined to span up to 8 meters of continuous powered track without any intermediate support. Its elegantly curved form adds grace to any space. After this, we patented the design and even developed a unique “space-inspired” packaging to reflect its futuristic identity.

But this was just the beginning. The most risky and suspenseful challenge was the dynamic conductive mechanism. To ensure rabbit could run continuously along the airpath, we had to optimize an industrial-grade sliding contact system that would operate quietly and reliably in indoor environments while supporting 360W of continuous power—without overheating, producing noise, and with self-lubrication.

This pushed both material technology and machining precision to the limit. All moving parts had to meet a tolerance of less than 0.05mm. Contact pressure and angle directly affected wear and lifespan. Even a tiny deviation or a speck of dust could create noise at high speed. The auxiliary wheels also had to fit tightly with the airpath. We tested six different designs, countless conductive lubricating materials from multiple suppliers, performed extensive simulations and material analyses—but every prototype failed within 24 hours: either it made noise or the power cut out mid-run. Our lab was piled high with failed samples, covering desks, boxes, and every corner of the office. Finally, we solved it. The system now has a lifespan of 10,000 km, meaning it can operate for nearly ten years without replacement.

While waiting for samples, we continued designing the framework, base, and drive structure. As a product designer, I was involved in every curve from the exterior to the internal structure. Even a change of a few tenths of a millimeter could affect the final appearance and quality. The smoothness of internal air channels directly impacts cooling efficiency and product lifespan, and the placement of electronic components was meticulously arranged to minimize internal turbulence.

We spent 95% of our time designing the internal structure. To achieve a lightweight yet highly efficient frame, we used an ultra-light fishbone-shaped framework made with advanced Mg Alloy Thixomolding, combined with a five-piece 0.6mm-thick high-thermal-conductivity aluminum chassis, bringing the total assembly weight to just 2.3 kg. The flexible base can be easily opened and adjusted, and the entire power system is hidden inside—simply plug it in, and it’s ready to run.

Beyond Lighting: The Future Vision for the White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter

You describe rabbit as the beginning of a new era of personal automation. What future capabilities or expansions do you envision as this platform evolves?

We will continue to dedicate significant effort to software updates and iteration. Thanks to rabbit’s unique architecture, it can host a wide variety of applications—motion-based games, health and fitness, baby monitoring, and more. Features that traditionally relied on multiple devices or a smartphone can now be fully integrated, operating automatically without requiring constant attention or manual control.

We also welcome suggestions and collaboration from the community. We believe the next ten years will be an era in which AI truly shapes the physical world. In the past, humans were the end-users and operators of household appliances — constantly interacting, adjusting, and maintaining them. That approach hardly qualifies as human-centered design, does it? 

Our vision is different: devices should adapt to our behaviors and feedback, moving and responding on their own, completely freeing our hands. We have long-term plans to realize this vision step by step, creating a future where devices truly act for us. So stay tuned to white rabbit — there are more features beneath the tip of the iceberg waiting for you to experience!

Our discussion with the creator of the White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter revealed the depth of engineering, material research, and design thinking behind this device. What began as a student concept evolved into a fully realized automation platform shaped by years of iteration, hundreds of prototypes, and a clear vision of AI-driven indoor interaction. From dynamic lighting that adapts in real time to panoramic vision processed entirely on-device, White rabbit demonstrates how a single system can replace multiple ceiling-mounted products while introducing new modes of interaction. As the team continues expanding its software ecosystem, rabbit stands as an ambitious step toward a future where home devices move, respond, and adapt naturally to human behavior.

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FAQ about White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter

What is the purpose of this device, and why combine these functions?

White rabbit® integrates lighting, a camera, and a speaker—the three most commonly used ceiling-mounted features—into one unit. Instead of installing and wiring multiple devices, users only need a single device and one power socket. All functions work at the same time to create a richer indoor experience. With its movement and recognition abilities, white rabbit® removes the need for traditional switches, offers multiple lighting effects, and creates a more responsive environment. The built-in AI features further enhance convenience, efficiency, and interaction.

Why does the lighting move and follow you, and what is the benefit?

In lighting design, angle, brightness, and color temperature are essential. Most lights only address one or two of these factors, which often requires several fixtures in the same room. White rabbit® solves this by functioning as a moving, individually controllable light source. Users can adjust position, brightness, color temperature, and lighting type—including reflection, ambience, focused lighting, or entertainment effects—to create the exact result they want. This makes it a highly powerful and versatile lighting solution.

What happens if two people walk in opposite directions in the room?

The device positions itself between both users, balancing its movement to give equal lighting coverage. Its advanced position and posture detection system also recognizes when someone is seated, and will prioritize staying with the seated person to maintain stable illumination.

Will white rabbit® react to pets moving around the room?

No. The movement and recognition system is designed to follow humans, not animals. Pets may move around, but the device remains focused on people so the lighting stays stable and consistent.

How do I install white rabbit®, and does it require any tools or wiring?

A detailed step-by-step installation video is provided. White rabbit® can be installed between two surfaces up to approximately 8 meters apart, at a comfortable hand-raised height. It does not require extra wiring and runs from a simple wall-socket plug. Depending on the wall material, a screwdriver or power driver may be needed to secure the mounting feet. Installation works best on wood, concrete, brick, or thick drywall. For thin drywall—especially installations over 5 AirPaths in length—extra caution is recommended because the pulling force on the feet may be significant.

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About the Creators behind White rabbit AI companion on Kickstarter

Penguins Innovate is a multidisciplinary team specializing in product design, engineering, and AI research. Having worked with leading global brands and earning international design awards, the team now focuses on next-generation human-computer interaction. Their work explores how automation and AI can reshape indoor environments through devices that learn, move, and respond naturally. The White rabbit AI companion is their first consumer product, reflecting years of experimentation in design, materials, and advanced interaction systems.