14 DAY TRIAL // Have you ever seen a robotic dog with an expressive face? Neither have I, and they most likely are still a few years away. But you can console yourself with the machine shown in the video above, provided that you have an iPhone.
Engineers at the Japanese company that created Tamagotchi – Bandai – have recently introduced this amazing dog-like robot, which uses an iPhone display for a face. The device, called a “Smartpet,” will be launched on the Japanese marker on April 24, and will cost about $78, Technology Review reports.
One of the most interesting things to do with your Smartpet is give it a series of gesture commands. It can recognize several hand motions with the Facetime camera, and performs the commands associated with them. Voice command recognition is also built into the accompanying Smartpet iPhone app.
The face displayed on the screen has about 100 expressions built in, which can transmit whatever the pet is doing at the time. Would you buy such a contraption?