Social RoboticsPanasonic opens orders for Nicobo, its deliberately weak companion robot
The knitted robot that mumbles, wags and even breaks wind heads for general sale.
Panasonic took pre-orders for Nicobo ahead of general sales starting on 16 May 2023, following an earlier crowdfunding run. The small knitted robot is designed to do very little: it wiggles, wags its tail, looks at its owner, mumbles and gradually picks up a few Japanese words. It costs 60,500 yen plus a monthly subscription for updates and care services. Nicobo is a clear example of the Japanese 'weak robot' idea, where companionship comes from cuteness and dependence rather than usefulness.
Source: SoraNews24
This archive entry summarises reporting published elsewhere; follow the source link for the full story. The summary was drafted with AI from that reporting.