Fujitsu’s Cuddly Robot Bear

Writing by Evan Ackerman on Wednesday, 6 of October , 2010 at 12:28 am

Looks like Fujitsu’s getting into the cuddly companion robot market with this robot teddy bear, who can laugh, wave, and won’t ever judge you. With 12 actuators the bear can perform some 300 actions, and with touch, grip, and tilt sensors, it’s reasonably interactive. Fujitsu seems to want this robot to serve the same general function as Paro: it’s got enough interactivity to promote emotional bonds, and (most importantly) is fuzzy and snugglable, making a good choice for a companion robot.

If this robot looks a little bit familiar, it’s because we’ve seen something just like it before… MIT’s ‘Huggable’ robot, from back in 2008. Both robots have generally similar capabilities, except that the MIT bear is more geared toward interactive telepresence while the Fujitsu bear seems to be more of an autonomous companion. Not much seems to have come of Huggable recently, though, so for the moment, Fujitsu has the monopoly on robot bears. Non-violent ones, at least.

VIA [ Engadget ]

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Category: Medical

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