The HD-1 is Arcturus's attempt to enter the consumer market — a bipedal household maintenance automaton standing 1.7 meters, designed for home repair tasks: plumbing, electrical work, structural patching, appliance repair. Arcturus built it using scaled-down military robotics, which means the HD-1 is dramatically overengineered for its purpose. Its hands can apply torque sufficient to shear bolts off military vehicles. Its frame can support loads that would crush a residential floor. It was designed to fix your sink by people who usually design things that destroy buildings.

The result is a consumer product that makes homeowners vaguely nervous. The HD-1 moves with the mechanical precision of a weapons platform because it is, fundamentally, a weapons platform that has been taught to use a wrench instead of a rifle. Its visual design — angular, armored-looking, with the characteristic Arcturus matte-gray finish — does nothing to soften this impression. Children are afraid of it. Adults are uneasy around it. It fixes things flawlessly.

Arcturus has sold fewer HD-1 units than projected because consumers find it intimidating. The company has responded by offering an optional 'soft shell' — a padded exterior covering in consumer-friendly colors that makes the HD-1 look like a large appliance instead of a soldier. Sales improved thirty percent. Underneath the pastel padding, it is still a military chassis that could punch through a concrete wall.