The joys of owning a pet without the responsibility — such is the selling point of Panasonic’s companion robot, NICOBO.

Meet NICOBO. An adorable companion robot that may be moody, but also empathetic. Just like a real pet, Nicobo can wiggle, wag its tail, make cute noises, snuggle, and even fart! Don’t worry, the farts won’t smell a thing.

Panasonic describes NICOBO as a “weak” companion robot in the sense that it cannot do much more than the aforementioned. However, it certainly is a smart pet as it has voice recognition and can also learn a few words in Japanese (seeing as how this is a Japanese companion robot).

Unlike most pet robots, NICOBO also has facial and emotional recognition, making it an advanced companion robot to own.

Panasonic Creates a Companion Robot that Can Fart and Learn Japanese

Panasonic first announced NICOBO back in February 2021 when they began their crowdfunding for the moody yet empathetic companion robot. Two years later, the companion robot is now available for pre-order online and will officially make its way into stores on May 16, 2023.

Tags:

Linda Takahashi

American-born New Yorker Linda Johnson has been fascinated with robotic machines since she was a teenager, when her father, a surgeon, would introduce to her the machines that he used to perform keyhole surgeries. This interest led her to pursue a tech degree at the University of Washington, where she met Sota Takahashi. They married and now have two children. Linda’s father developed dementia later on and was given a robot pet as a companion. She saw how much having a robot pet friend helped her father, which is what led her to create this website and advocate to spread word about robot pets and how they can help both children and the elderly.

Sensors in Robot Vacuums That Help Them Navigate

RoboTire is Revolutionizing the Tire-Changing Process Using Robots