FAQ
General Information
What is Luka®?
Luka® is your kid's new reading companion. Luka® reads aloud stories from illustrated, printed children's books in both English & Mandarin. This encourages traditional reading habits in conjunction with new media.
What amazing things can Luka® do?
Luka® reads stories to your kid from illustrated, printed kid's books.
Luka® is child's play: your kid opens a book, puts it in front of Luka® and off they go.
Luka® thinks for himself: When your kids turn the pages back and forth, Luka® follows them and carries on reading from wherever they land.
Luka® always has time: Your kids can always decide independently when Luka® will read to them.
Luka® is very likeable: All books are read in a natural voice.
Luka® has lots to offer: There are already over tens of thousands of recordings of books available in the App Store and Play Store.
Who is Luka® suitable for?
The target age group is 0-12 years. From playing nursery rhymes and audio books for babies to encouraging bigger kids to read aloud with Luka®.
What are the differences between Luka®, the reading friend for kids, and other digital products for kids?
Unlike other digital products for children, Luka® promotes your child's traditional reading habits by linking new media and illustrated, printed kids books.
How can Luka® help kids improve their reading habits?
Kids who read daily have a wider vocabulary, and more highly-developed phonological and sound perception.
How does Luka® support parents?
Luka® plays a supportive role by offering your kids the opportunity to have their favorite books read to them independently. With the Luka® App, you have the opportunity to accompany your kids to read together with their reading companion Luka®, and gain informative insights into their reading habits (reading duration, reading frequency, book title, etc.).
Is Luka® a replacement for parent-kid reading time?
Luka® doesn't want to replace reading time with parents, but rather to give kids more reading time in everyday life. According to numerous studies, kids who read regularly have a wider vocabulary. The number of words in a kid's working vocabulary is also an important pointer to their later school success.
Does the traditional kids' book have to actually be there for Luka® to be able to read it out loud?
Yes, the book must be there. Luka® reads stories from illustrated, printed kids' books. There is however an additional option to push audio contents (songs, books, etc.) using the Luka® App to Luka®.
Can Luka® read any picture book?
At present, Luka® recognizes and reads over 20,000 English picture books, and over 70,000 Chinese titles. You can find an ever-growing list of illustrated, printed children's books which Luka® can read in the Luka® App and also available for sale on our Luka® Reads website.
Can a Bluetooth speaker be connected to Luka®?
Most Bluetooth speakers have an output volume of more than 80 dB, which can cause irreversible damage to kids' eardrums; Luka® has a maximum volume of 80 dB, which is very safe for kids. Connecting a Bluetooth speaker is not sensible and is therefore not provided for.
Where can I search to see if Luka® can read a particular book?
You can use the search function on the Luka® app to see if he is able to read a book of your choice.
The Luka® App
Where can I download the Luka® App?
The Luka® App is available for iOS and Android in the App Store or Play Store for download.
Which functions does Luka®'s bookshelf provide?
The bookshelf contains the following features:
- Overview of already loaded books
- Search function within the loaded books
- Selection of possible alternative recording tracks
Will all previously loaded books be displayed in the bookshelf?
Yes, all already loaded books are displayed in the bookshelf.
How can I add children's songs to Luka®'s playlist?
Open the Luka® App, search for your favorite song and open it. Then click on the Favorites icon. Your selected song will be added to your Favorites.
How many accounts can be connected with a Luka®?
Up to 3 users can be created and managed in the Luka® App.
How do I use the vivid Text-Converted Speech function by Luka®?
In the main menu of the Luka® App, click on the 'Send Message' function. This feature allows you to send written messages on your mobile phone to Luka®, who will then speak out your messages. There are also pre-programmed/default messages that you can use readily.
How do I use the Self-Recording function to record a book myself?
A detailed video tutorial can be found in the Luka® App. Click on 'Learn to Play' on the App and you will be able to find all the 'How to' videos.
Technical issues
How can I switch on Luka®?
Press the tail of Luka® for four seconds and wait for about 20 seconds until the starting process is completed and Luka® cheerfully calls his own name. Luka® is now ready to read.
How can I switch off Luka®?
Luka® is equipped with an automatic shut-off function, and if there is no interaction with Luka® for more than five minutes, Luka® switches off automatically. Luka® can be switched off manually at any time by pressing his tail for four seconds.
How do I connect Luka® to my WIFI network?
A detailed video tutorial can be found in the Luka® App, under 'Learn to Play'.
Why is the cover of my picture book not recognized?
Confirm if Luka® supports the picture book: open the App and enter the name of the illustrated, printed children's book into the search box. On our Luka® Reads website, you will find a constantly growing list of children's books which Luka® can read.
I cannot load the picture book. What can I do?
Check if Luka® is connected to the WiFi. If necessary, reconnect Luka® to WiFi.
Why are the inner pages not recognized?
Make sure the reading environment is well lit. Luka® and the book must be placed on a flat surface.
Why is another picture book recognized rather than the chosen one?
Make sure that Luka® is in reading mode.
What can I do if a picture book cannot be recognized?
If the children's book is not yet added to Luka®'s cloud library, you can record it yourself with the Self-Recording function and save it.
Can text-based books be used as well?
Luka® currently supports the reading of illustrated, printed children's books. Pure text-based books are not supported. However, if you have purchased the Luka® Hero, it has the additional Point-and-Read function where you can point at any word, and Luka® will be able to read it out loud for you.
What is meant by the night mode? How do I turn on night mode?
In night mode, the brightness of Luka®'s eyes is reduced. Besides that, system events are not announced with a single sound. In the App, you have the ability to both turn the night mode on and off as well as to set start and end times for automatic activation.
Does the firmware update have to be performed?
We always recommend installing the latest firmware as it updates both the functionality and the security standard of Luka®. You can update the firmware on the Luka® App.
Where can I view a detailed instruction of Luka?
Detailed video tutorials can be found in the Luka® App. How-to videos are also available on our Youtube Channel.
How can I check the battery status?
Press Luka®'s beak for two seconds to see the battery status in Luka®'s eyes. The display goes off automatically after approximately 10 seconds.
Do you have a question that we did not answer?
Email us at dj@lukareads.com or WhatsApp us at +65 93632190 and we will answer your queries.
Updated 14/7/2020