casio’s AI pet robot moflin gets emotionally attached with owners everytime they cuddle it

Meet moflin, casio’s AI pet robot that has feelings

Casio releases Moflin, a pet robot that can develop feelings for its owners over time using AI. The hamster-like device moves, has emotions, and behaves as if it were alive. Moflin has what Casio calls a 2D Emotion Express Map, meaning its emotions change depending on the furry robot’s surroundings and how it interacts with its owner. The AI technology helps decode, learn, and understand the owner’s words and movements, translating them into appropriate emotions, and channels them to Moflin so it can act according to what the owner needs.

Moflin emotionally grows every day. During its first couple of days, its – or he, she, or they, depending on the owner – behavior may appear childlike. Over time, around a month, it can express its own emotions and get attached to the owner. Its personality develops according to how the owner treats it. When they pet, hold, and talk to Moflin, the Casio robot perceives these actions as positive emotions, thereby registering them into its system. When the owner pays no attention to the AI pet, it starts to feel negative emotions and updates its emotional log data.

all images courtesy of Casio

Casion creates an app so owners can see how moflin feels

Owners of Casio’s Moflin might want to download the dedicated app called MofLife. It’s how they can check the AI pet robot’s emotions as the app projects animations that let them know how it feels at the moment. On the app, graphs and messages about the hamster-like device are on view so the owners can review them and figure out how to build a healthier relationship with their Moflin. Casio also offers a paid membership service called Club Moflin, where owners are afforded ‘hospitalization’ and fur care fees for Moflin (essentially, it covers the device’s repairs).

Moflin listens. In fact, it can remember its owner’s voice and only shows them specific gestures and sounds. It interacts differently, but kindly, with outsiders. It is small enough to be held in the arms or with two hands. It can also fit in a basket or small bag, so the owner can carry Moflin anywhere they go. When the AI pet robot needs charging, the owner simply puts it into its included ‘house’, which looks like a bathtub, to recharge its batteries. As of the story’s publishing, Casio has introduced Moflin in furry brown and gray variants, priced at 59,400 yen (around 398 USD) per unit. Reservations are available, and shipping begins on November 7th, 2024.

Casio’s Moflin is small enough to fit in a basket or a small bag