neverwonderland

There are probably of companion and pet robots out there, but most of them are yer dull, boring or simply ugly. Nevertheless i have stumbled across several implementation both high tech solutions with years of research and low end “homebrewed”:

Heart Robot

http://www.heartrobot.org.uk/

“We wanted to make a puppet to which people might respond emotionally. We wanted the puppet to seem vulnerable, alien, and cartoony. Something new! Something handmade, not factory-built”

this little British guy comes equipped with breathing simulation circuit and since its a puppet it can be controlled by hand. Its amazing to see how people almost automatically relate emotionally to this little creature. they have several other robots per-se (not only robots)

Probo

http://anty.vub.ac.be/info/Probo/

Probo uses sensors for vision, audio and touch to interact with the children. By means of artificial intelligence, Anty is capable of understanding and expressing emotions.

Personally i hate the way this one looks, but its very usefull as stories its aid with ill children at hospital sprawled all over the web. Its hability to detect emotions and react to them made it a perfect companion for hospital beds.

Needies

http://needies.com/about.html

Needies are interactive plush dolls inspired by codependent, high-maintenance relationships.

I was fascinated when i first learned of needies by Brett Schultz (i think they where his thesis project for ITP)  The coolest feature of a needie is that its emotionally dependant of its owner, (needs hugs) and each of them has a different personallity and reacts differently when you pay more attention to another needie he lives with. Not only they sense when you interact with itself but with its peers !

and they are quite huggable too

Huggable

http://robotic.media.mit.edu/projects/robots/huggable/overview/overview.html

It is designed to function as a team member that is an essential member of a triadic interaction. Therefore, the Huggable™ is not designed to replace any particular person in a social network, but rather to enhance that human social network.

This Super Teddy Bear is probably the most advanced companion/toy robot and seems to be mutually inspiration on the Movie AI.  MIT claims it has three main applications,

• Robotic avatar for remote family members
• Early Education Companion
• Therapeutic  Companion

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