Moody robot with western features!

Panasonic and robotics researchers at the Michio Oka Lab at Toyohashi University of Toyohashi University of Technology jointly created the Nicobo robot, which has many features you would expect from such a device.

The Nicobo robot can recognize faces with its camera, hear and respond to your voice with its directional microphones, and includes touch sensors, so it knows when you touch or hug it.

The robot also has some strange characteristics, as it is prone to gas attacks and bad moods, so there are days when it may not respond very much.

Sometimes the talking robot starts off without you, and neither do you expect them to follow you around the room, as Nicobo is not moving and his only motor skills are centered on turning, shaking his head and from the tail and look up and down.

Nicobo has a limited vocabulary, and he only knows one word at first, but is eventually able to pronounce full Japanese sentences the same way as a young child.

Buying the robot in the near future will not be easy, as Panasonic plans to manufacture only 320 robots in the initial production process, and they have been sold through initial orders through the crowdfunding platform in around six. hours.

Panasonic plans to ship the robot to customers in March 2022, and the company is selling Nicobo for around $ 360.

After the first six months, those lucky enough to get an initial request will have to pay around $ 10 per month for features like pairing and smartphone updates.

And it’s possible that Panasonic will ramp up production and make more Nicobo robots if there’s enough interest.