Panasonic’s Nicobo is an expensive robot cat that farts when it feels like it

I have officially reached the quarantine point where a far-firing robot cat took first place on my wishlist. I’m talking specifically about Nicobo – Panasonic’s companion robot.

First spotted by Gizmodo, Nicobo doesn’t do much other than wag his tail, turn around, blink and talk a little. Oh, and it also fires when the mood strikes. It looks more like a padded sock than a cat, but it’s still very cute.

However, there are some pretty advanced features hidden inside. Thanks to built-in microphones and cameras, Nicobo can recognize your face and voice and look towards you. And, thanks to the touch sensors, it knows when you are petting it or hugging it.

However, securing your own Nicobo is not as easy as clicking the ‘order’ button. According to Gizmodo, Panasonic only plans to manufacture 320 units for around $ 360 each, all of which are already sold out on pre-order. Production of these sock robots has not yet started either – the company is first trying to raise 10,000,000 YEN (about $ 95,000) through crowdfunding.

And, just when you thought spending over $ 300 was enough for Nicobo, you’re stuck with extra spending. After six months of use, you will need to shell out around $ 10 per month to connect it to your smartphone and also to receive software updates.

I probably wouldn’t say this if another product was this expensive, but for a little companion like Nicobo the money is well worth it. Then again, maybe I just need to leave my apartment more often.