Photo: robots-dreams.com
Readers may recall a few months back when we wrote about Bandai’s Smartpet robot dog, which used an iPhone as its artificial brain. Well, apparently there’s a high demand for robot dogs in Japan, as famed toy maker Takera Tomy has gotten in on the action now as well.
Currently on display at the 2012 Tokyo Toy Show, the company’s I-SODOG is a robotic canine that features realistic movement thanks to 15 servo motors, and is capable of responding to over 50 voice commands. It also has smartphone integration (both iOS and Android), and can be controlled via an application, as you can see in the video from Gigazine below.
The I-SODOG can do dances and shake hands, and it you can also reward it for good or bad behavior which, according to Plastic Pals, will help it develop a ‘personality’ over time. It also comes with a remote controller as an alternative to controlling with voice commands or the smartphone app.
As you might expect, a fancy robotic pet like this isn’t going to come cheap, especially in Japan. And this one will retail for around 31,500 yen (or about $400). It’s expected to go on sale in 2013.
Other robot dogs in Japan’s growing arsenal are HPI’s G-Dog, and perhaps the leader of the pack, NSK’s robot seeing-eye dog. They were all fathered by Sony’s now retired Aibo, who – according to sources familiar with the matter – fathered them all in a wild three-month love affair with a snow blower.
[Source: Plastic Pals, Robots-Dreams]
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