Casio has opened up pre-orders for one of the cutest robots we have ever seen.
Called Moflin, the guinea pig-like creature is designed to be a mental wellbeing support robot, cuddling you and learning who you are as you interact with it.
You might know Casio best for its excellent G-Shock watches, or perhaps its calculators, but the company isn't just in the business of timepieces and helping you out with your sums. It's also involved in musical instruments and medical devices, though that's not what we are talking about today either.
The thing that's got Casio in the news is the fact that it has opened pre-orders for a robotic pet called Moflin. Honestly, even the name sounds cute.
As reported by The Verge, Moflin was first developed in collaboration with a Japanese startup called Vanguard Industries, though it is now being manufactured by our favourite retro watch maker.
Moflin looks like a guinea pig, albeit slightly fluffier, and it is designed to be held and cuddled, with small head and body movements to make you feel like it's trying to cuddle you back. There are some AI-powered features on board too, with Moflin designed to recognise the person who interacts with it the most through their voice and the way they handle it, responding with unique sounds and movements.
The furry robot can't run away like Sony's Aibo dog , so this isn't the robot you buy for a game of fetch, but the more you interact with it, the happier and calmer it will be. Ignore it and it can become stressed and anxious.
Its emotional state is reflected in the accompanying app rather than through sad or happy sounds from Moflin itself, though it will make some sounds and the app can also be used to turn those up or down.
In a bid not to ruin the illusion of Moflin being a real, very cute and fluffy living creature, it doesn't have a random USB-C port beneath its fur. Instead, it comes with a small bed that it recharges in, taking around 3.5 hours to recharge fully.
The Casio Moflin comes in either brown or grey fur colour options and it will be available from 7 November, with pre-orders open now.
The emotional support robot costs ￥59,400 (around £300 or $400) . There's also a subscription service called Club Molfin that costs ￥6,600 (about £35 or $45) per year, and while it is optional, it will give you a discount on repairs, cleaning and a complete fur replacement should your little Moflin require it.
Hopefully it'll be released outside of Japan too. We'll update with more availability details when we can.
