Casio Made a Furry Robot Designed To Cuddle and Calm You Down (theverge.com)
- Reference: 0175251503
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/24/10/14/2035252/casio-made-a-furry-robot-designed-to-cuddle-and-calm-you-down
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268063/casio-robot-pet-moflin
> Unlike [3]Sony's robot dog Aibo that can follow you around, Moflin is designed to be held and cuddled, and over time, Casio says it will learn who you are and attempt to develop a simulated bond expressed through unique sounds and movements. Originally developed through a collaboration with a Japanese startup called Vanguard Industries, Moflin is now being manufactured and distributed by Casio. It can be preordered for [around $398 USD] and is expected to be available starting on November 7th. Casio is also offering an optional subscription service called Club Moflin for [about $44 USD] per year, which gets you a discount on repairs, cleanings, and even a complete fur replacement. Accidents happen.
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> Casio's Moflin isn't designed to be a play toy like Sony's Aibo. It's intended to be more of a comforting companion and potentially a tool to help improve your mental wellness, similar to [4]Qoobo , the headless robotic cat. While being held, Moflin's limited head and body movements are supposed to make it feel like the furry robot is attempting to snuggle with you, and as with many devices debuting this year, there are some AI-powered features, too. Moflin is supposed to learn to recognize the person who interacts with it the most through their voice and the way they handle the bot, and it will respond with unique sounds and movements only expressed to that person to simulate a close bond.
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> The robot is also designed to develop its own simulated feelings and personality, which can change over time. With regular interactions, it will become happy, secure, and calm. If it's ignored, it can become stressed, anxious, and sad. But given the robot's limited emotive capabilities, it doesn't make sad sounds, or display an anxious wiggle, demonstrating those feelings. Its emotional state can only be determined through an app, making it feel almost like a very expensive Tamagotchi, minus any digital rewards for being a diligent caregiver. The app can also be used to turn down the volume of the sounds the robot makes.
[1] https://www.casio.com/jp/moflin/
[2] https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268063/casio-robot-pet-moflin
[3] https://slashdot.org/story/00/10/05/1754248/sony-to-release-new-pet-robot-by-years-end
[4] https://qoobo.info/
This will save my ex money. (Score:2)
This will save my ex money, won't have to buy so much cat food and kitty litter.
Will probably end up spending the money saved on batteries though.
I don't get it (Score:2)
This is October, not April
Re: (Score:1)
> This is October, not April
Kinky is popular all year 'round.
Furry robot? (Score:2)
Oh great, we'll have the furry fandom people going "They took 'ur jerbs!" now too.
Two words: mechanical Turk (Score:2)
You buy one of these from Casio and it turns out it's just some guy in a fursuit making robot noises. You know like how Elon musk's robots work but with more fur and less dancing.
Give to elderly women (Score:2)
> ... attempting to snuggle with you ...
That will appease the nurturing instinct of young and very old females. It is common practice to give mechanized plush toys to senile women.
These already exist (Score:2)
They're called pets. And they work.
Of course they require actual commitment because if you ignore then they'll die. And that might be related to why they work. Because of the responsibility to another living being.
You ignore one of these (say it falls behind the couch) and all you have to do is change the battery. Not a big deal.
So yes, there could be situations were one of these $400 gadgets is appropriate, but somehow it seems a whole lot more real to just get a live pet. It doesn't even need to be a d
I'll tell you what will calm me down (Score:2)
Keeping my $400.
Casio still exists? (Score:3)
Learn something new every day.
Pantomime of human feelings. (Score:2)
Doesn't seem likely to produce healthy people. Just shell out gift gards to petting zoos as promotions instead of crap like this.
yeah..ummm (Score:2)
Didnt the Simpsons do an episode about a cuddleybot that gathered marketing info on its clients?
For that kind of money (Score:2)
You can pamper pet for a year, that will show you genuine affection.
Orrrr..... (Score:2)
Get a puppy?
Re: (Score:2)
> Get a puppy?
Perhaps its a pussy?
Super successful campaigns (Score:3)
I knew about a similar seal creature pet that was made for the elderly and it did apparently have positive effects. I'm guessing this is targeted more at lonely working women. What I'm shocked about is that Vanguard actually attracted what looks like a million bucks through Kickstarted and Indiegogo to build this. Actually the Vanguard site is really interesting.
revealing (Score:1)
Just from that landing page I learned a lot about young Japanese women who need money so badly they agree to cuddle a twitch-duster.
I would've scoffed at the idea (Score:3)
But seeing how so many people have flipped their lid in America, and you have no idea how the other person is going to turn out, now or in the future, this really does not seem to be a bad idea. Not everyone can have a pet or a therapy animal for a myriad of reasons, and this might be the next best thing.
Re: (Score:1)
I'm convinced there is a [1]therapy [bbc.com] [2]animal [bbc.com] for [3]everyone [bbc.com].
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42880690
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6py05vv81vo
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24539989
Re: (Score:3)
It sounds crazy, but these things do work, even when we know they are fake.
People treat dogs like children, even though they know the difference.
Or to be more vulgar, we know porn is just pixels on a screen, not flesh and blood, but we still respond.
We really should be listening to the dystopian warnings about [1]AI companions replacing real human relationships. [wikipedia.org]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)