Bob the Pleo Forums
Robot Stuff => General Robotics => Topic started by: Lunamione7 on February 04, 2016, 12:04:14 PM
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Childrens toy company Hasbro are now making cuddly robotic cats for adults. Their web page and videos show the target audience for the cats as elderly and disabled:
http://joyforall.hasbro.com/en-us?selection=B7593
I got quite over excited and then watched the video... in the video they look like they might just be the same childrens FurReal robots packaged in a box re-branded for adults.
Reading the manual the cats have touch, light, movement, sound sensors as well as some movement in the head, face, legs, upper body and the ability to roll over. They claim realistic purring/breathing sensation but that function isn't shown in the videos.
Overall though for the price of $99 + free shipping to US I think you get quite a nice robot. Remember the target is disabled adults so the cats main function is to provide companionship and cuddles, not perform complicated tricks or walk around.
I am penning an email to the company to ask about AI and what future plans they may have to further develop AI and robot pets for an adult market, assuming they make enough sales to hold their interest of course.
If Hasbro are able to convince me that these are not just repackaged FurReals and have some form of personality/AI I may try to get my hands on one :) I've always wanted a cat but the landlord will not allow it :(
Talon let me know if you can't see the videos or information, I'll try and dig some up on youtube. Despite aiming their product at a disabled market their website doesn't work with my screen reader. I will have to point that out to them.
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Sounds potentially interesting. I agree that they look almost identical to the Furreal Friends robot cat that Hasbro made years ago, I wonder if there are any actual differences. It looks like they might just be a reskinned and reboxed version of Hasbro's LuLu my Cuddlin Cat. I'll look into them more and might consider getting one if they can explain to me how these robots are different from the original Furreal Friends cats since the price isn't too high (and I have a fair amount of Amazon credit). If I do decide to get one, I'd be happy to write a review here. Will have to watch the videos when I get home.
Edit:
After watching some videos of Hasbro's Furreal Friends LuLu My Cuddlin Kitty and Hasbro's Joy For All cat, they appear to be exactly the same mechanically. Joy For All has different eye and fur colors and appears to have a softer type of fur (some of the Furreal Friends series have pretty bristly fur), but aside from that, they seem identical. Still might get one since they're priced similarly to the original LuLu version and have nicer looking coats. Might have to opt for a used one though due to the lower cost.
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*Listens in shock* Hi, Luna! It's been... a while! Anyway, I was able to listen to the video from the website. I'll have to go back to the site to see if I can read up on this cat. I've switched screenreaders temporarily as I figure out whether JAWS will be worth upgrading. Right now I'm using NVDA which handles just about everything surprisingly well considering it's free. Nice to see you back here! How's Beau? *giggles from fond memories*
Talon
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Well, ended up buying one of these out of curiosity. Seems to be essentially the same as Hasbro's Furreal Friends LuLu, but since I don't own that robot either, it's not like I'm buying a duplicate of something. Doesn't seem very advanced at all and has a limited number of sounds/actions, but might be cute and I can always return it if I really don't care for it. I'll post a review when I get it (should be Saturday).
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I think it is great for elder people :)
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Beau is.. umm.. well lets just say he's Beau! Still absolutely furious at being put in a box and shipped around the world, still hates me! That's OK though, his attitude makes everyone laugh.
I'm still using Read Ten on my old Windows XP. I'm going to have to buy a new computer and software soon as it's just getting too out of date. So many websites are not compatible anymore. Sigh.
I have been around, I promise! I haven't posted for a long time but I have been logging on every week to keep up on the news. My robots and I haven't had any news worth reporting ourselves, I guess that's why we've been quiet.
Did I tell you I got a puppy (she will be turning two in April, can't believe how time has flown) who is named Talon
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Awwe! I'm honored! Congrats on the little bio-dog! My little Teacup Poodle Teddy will be four in April. According to my cousin, his fur is turning a sort of dingy-sock color rather than white and he weighs seven pounds. When I brought him home at eleven months he was just four pounds eleven ounces.
I guess Mr. Beau is just a one-person Furby and he's bitter at me for giving him up. Mr. Browneyes found himself a home with my cousin's little girl. I have one more mostly white two thousand five Furby that another forum member is thinking about adopting.
As you've probably read, my newest addition is a gold i-Cybie. Voice-training these guys is extremely confusing. I can't decide how to determine a name for this guy as he mostly seems to be very frustrated with me. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but he keeps walking away from me and going to sleep. Maybe he misses being a female named Sleepy and she just misses her mom who understood how to interact with her, I don't know.
Talon
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Got my Joy For All cat today and I'm fairly happy with how it works, but debating on returning it due to the hair. It just falls out in clumps everywhere. This thing sheds more than a real cat. I've tried brushing it to get the loose hair out, but more and more hair just keeps coming with no end in sight... It has enough hair that there's no visible loss in the amount of hair on it, but I at least have never owned a shedding animal and am not really up for a shedding robot. If the shedding hasn't died down after a few days of brushing and petting, I'll have to return it. It is odd though since none of the other buyers on Amazon have mention the shedding, not even the negative reviews, so I wonder if there could be something wrong with mine or if the normal buyer is just so used to being covered in cat hair that they don't mind/notice.