Casio says Moflin can develop its own personality and build a rapport with its owner – and it doesn’t need food, exercise or a litter tray. But is it essentially comforting or alienating?
It looks faintly like one half of a small pair of very fluffy slippers. It squeaks and wriggles and nestles in the palm of my hand, black eyes hidden beneath a mop of silvery-white fur. It weighs about the same as a tin of soup. It doesn’t need to be fed or walked and it doesn’t use a litter tray; it’s guaranteed not to leave “gifts” on my doorstep. Which is just as well, because Moflin is about to become my pet.
Before I am entrusted with the welfare of Japan’s latest AI companion robot, I meet its developers at the Tokyo headquarters of Casio, the consumer electronics firm that launched it commercially this month, priced at 59,400 yen (about £300). “Moflin’s role is to build relationships with humans,” says Casio’s Erina Ichikawa. I have just a week to establish a rapport with mine, which I remind myself not to leave on the train home.
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