The Luka Reading Robot is a robot that will read picture storybooks out loud to children. It has some great features that I really like, but it does seem to have a few glitches, which is expected from any kind of technology. Luka is a super cute reading robot that looks like an owl. It comes with a charging cord, a story about Luka, and a sheet of Luka stickers.
This partnered guest post is written by school teacher, Melissa. All opinions are her own.
Meet Luka Reading Robot
To use, you have to download the Luka Reading App available in both the Apple Store and the Google Play Market. The app has features where you can search for books to see if Luka can read them to you. According to the Luka tip guide, there is a scan feature where you can scan the ISBN barcode to see if that book is able to be read, but that feature may only be available on iPhone because it wasn’t showing up on my Samsung S8.
The concept of this reading robot is great, and when it works correctly, it can have a great impact. I can see myself using this in my Kindergarten classroom as one of my reading and listening centers.
After you determine if a book is able to be read, you place it on the table or ground in front of Luka and push the right wing. Luka scans the cover and then downloads the book. After downloading, which takes a few minutes, it then begins to read the book one page at a time. At the end of reading a page, it gives a little beep to let the listener know to turn the page. It can read from either side of the book, and it knows which page you are on even if you turn to a page out of order. This is also where the glitches come in. Sometimes I would turn to the next page and nothing would happen. Once I turned to a page in a book and it read a page from a totally different story-which is a recording problem I believe. Several times after I put a book in front of it and it downloaded the story, it would say it was having trouble, and occasionally it started reading a random book in Chinese. However, as long as you have patience, these glitches can be overlooked as it read many other books to me without any problems.
But wait there’s more!
Luka Reading Robot also has a push feature that I love and that my daughter Jessalyn (age 1) loved as well. You can push audio books and songs from the Luka Reading app to Luka, and he will play them through his speaker. Jessalyn is a bit young right now to sit and listen to Luka read, but she loved listening to the songs that Luka would play from the app. She loved looking at his eyes as they would move around. The first time she saw him she ran up to him and went “hoo-hoo” like it was an owl. I played several songs for her that she really enjoyed and she even danced along to some.
One other awesome feature available with Luka is to record a story in your own voice. You take pictures of each page of the book and then record your voice reading each page. Then it uploads to Luka and Luka will play your recording. It was super easy to do and took less than 10 minutes. I can’t wait to play this story for Jessalyn when she realizes it is my voice coming from Luka!
Because we received an early edition of Luka Reading Robot, we understand there are a few glitches that need to be worked out, however, we can see the full potential in this wonderful smart technology robot and how it will encourage young readers! To find out more about Luka, head here.
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Lucia says
Hallo, where do you get this product?
Jennifer says
Hi Lucia, click the link at the end of the post that says “head here” and it will direct you to their site. It looks like it’s still in production, but is scheduled for Amazon at a later date. 🙂
Marisela Zuniga says
wow, this is really neat! My son would like this, he loves it when we read to him
Tamra Phelps says
This is a really cute idea. Anything that gets kids interested in words and reading is good by me.
Heather Ramos says
I have been looking for something like this. I was thinking about the LeapFrog pen that reads the stories, but I don’t think my two year old is old enough yet for that. This is age appropriate for her – if I can get her to leave the cute robot alone while it reads LOL. I love reading with her, but this will allow her to read while I am cooking or cleaning 🙂
Carolyn Daley says
The Luka Reading Robot sounds great. It would be fun for my nephew to read along to help learn.
Janice Pittenger says
Great learning toy.
Nidhi Chauhan says
Looks like a very useful robot.
Rachel S says
How cool!
Devon Pickford says
So cute for busy parents
Elena says
How cool! I would like to get one
Janet W. says
This is so neat and would be so beneficial for my youngest grandson!
shelly peterson says
This is a neat little thing.
Rosie says
Cute idea and the robot is lovable looking!
Sherry Bult says
Great idea when parents can not sit and read to them ! It’s a great plan B!