Japanese Robot Uses iPhone as Toy Dog's Face

MacRumors · Mar 26, 2012, 11:59 AM

Our sister-site TouchArcade points out this Japanese iPhone-powered robot dog. The "dog" is an app that is installed on the iPhone or iPod Touch and then acts as the face of the virtual pet. The dog was originally reported by Japanese blog Macotakara.

Quote:

The smart pet uses the front facing camera on the iOS device to recognize and react to certain gestures, and there will be over 100 different kinds of expressions that the pet can make. There will also be support for importing your own photos of your pets (or whoever you want, really), and there will be some sort of Bluetooth connectivity to allow multiple smart pets to interact with each other. And, perhaps most important of all, your smart pet comes equipped with the ability to sneeze. Sounds adorable.

The tamagotchi-like app launches in Japan on March 31 and the pet body will be available after that -- no details on pricing however. Neither the app nor the dog itself have been confirmed for U.S. release.

Article Link: Japanese Robot Uses iPhone as Toy Dog's Face

Kid A · Mar 26, 2012, 12:10 PM

the first thing i thought when the original iPad was introduced was "put a front facing camera on this thing, and it'd be awesome as an interactive face for a robotic pet grizzly bear!"

looks like my dream may yet be on the horizon...

Straxus · Mar 26, 2012, 12:12 PM

...and the bartender says "why the long face?"

Wurm5150 · Mar 26, 2012, 12:21 PM

Wirelessly posted

Whatup dawg?!

Timoke6 · Mar 26, 2012, 12:21 PM

looks a bit like an iDog i had back in the day! haha

Lesser Evets · Mar 26, 2012, 12:35 PM

That was wonderfully useless. He spent 2 minutes doing what? What the hell was I watching?

Pakaku · Mar 26, 2012, 01:10 PM

Knowing Japan, next we'll be seeing 50-story-high robots powered by iPads. It's only inevitable.

DESNOS · Mar 26, 2012, 01:12 PM

Only in japan.

jonnysods · Mar 26, 2012, 01:23 PM

Wirelessly posted

Wow. Thankful for this post!

thekris1234 · Mar 26, 2012, 01:29 PM

Don't worry Samsung will patent this soon.

FrizzleFryBen · Mar 26, 2012, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DESNOS

Only in japan.

They seem to make a pet out of everything. Seems to me like the target audience would be kids too young to own a iPhone or Touch. Then again, I don't have kids so I really don't know what I'm talking about.

ArtOfWarfare · Mar 26, 2012, 02:00 PM

...

Watch the video at around 0:40. The dog makes a run for the edge of the table and the guy has to grab it and pull it back.

Imagine if he hadn't caught it (or if you bought one and it did something similar and you didn't catch it): The dog runs off the table and shatters its face - your iPhone's glass front screen - on the ground.

charlieegan3 · Mar 26, 2012, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lesser Evets

That was wonderfully useless. He spent 2 minutes doing what? What the hell was I watching?

watching or lives drift away.

mrgraff · Mar 26, 2012, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

...

Watch the video at around 0:40. The dog makes a run for the edge of the table and the guy has to grab it and pull it back.

Imagine if he hadn't caught it (or if you bought one and it did something similar and you didn't catch it): The dog runs off the table and shatters its face - your iPhone's glass front screen - on the ground.

I don't know, It looked to me like the dog stopped on its own; like it had a proximity sensor or something. I think the guy's hand was there just in case the dog fell.

Skika · Mar 26, 2012, 03:00 PM

Kawaii desu ne?

bretm · Mar 26, 2012, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lesser Evets

That was wonderfully useless. He spent 2 minutes doing what? What the hell was I watching?

What the hell am I reading?

-SD- · Mar 26, 2012, 10:36 PM

And there I was contemplating all the sensible, useful things I could do with my current iPhone when the new model is released....

I do so love the Japanese and their crazy toys. And yes, iGundams would be awesome.

Benson11 · Mar 28, 2012, 09:18 AM

Lol..Yeah this can only possible in the country like Japan..Nothing to say only need to observe silently that how fast this world is moving on!!

Macman45 · Mar 28, 2012, 09:21 AM

err...The guy seems to spend most of his time trying to make the robot work...I doubt I'd buy one...

DUSTmurph · Mar 28, 2012, 09:55 AM

So you wave your hand in front of the dog's face, it makes some noises, and walks around in random circles???? how fun.

aoifeee · Mar 29, 2012, 04:22 AM

Definitely interested to see how much it will cost.

powers74 · Apr 3, 2012, 12:33 PM

looks like something my uncle would buy. What a waste of cash... And plastic for that matter.

Mar 26, 2012, 12:12 PM	#3
Straxus macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	A Toy Dog walks into a bar... ...and the bartender says "why the long face?"
	4

Mar 26, 2012, 12:21 PM	#5
Timoke6 macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Mordor.	looks a bit like an iDog i had back in the day! haha __________________ iPod Nano 2g 2gb \| Broken iPod Touch 2g 8gb \| iPod Touch 4g 32gb \| New iPad 16gb wifi Sorry for my bad english.
	2

Mar 26, 2012, 12:35 PM	#6
Lesser Evets macrumors 68030 Join Date: Jan 2006	That was wonderfully useless. He spent 2 minutes doing what? What the hell was I watching? __________________ 2x1.86 BSEL Pro 1,1; 5770; 16GB RAM; 1•3TB/2•1TB/2•2TB SATA; 128GB Startup SSD; 30" & 20" C.Displays; OSX 10.7.5; Sound Sticks; 1TB TimeMach
	5

Mar 26, 2012, 01:23 PM	#9
jonnysods macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Aussie living in Canada	Wirelessly posted Wow. Thankful for this post! __________________ Sodagorn Media www.sodagorn.com
	1

Mar 26, 2012, 02:00 PM	#12
ArtOfWarfare macrumors 68040 Join Date: Nov 2007	... Watch the video at around 0:40. The dog makes a run for the edge of the table and the guy has to grab it and pull it back. Imagine if he hadn't caught it (or if you bought one and it did something similar and you didn't catch it): The dog runs off the table and shatters its face - your iPhone's glass front screen - on the ground. __________________ Battery Status - On the Mac App Store The only app that'll estimate when your wireless devices will need their batteries changed. Like it on Facebook!
	2

Mar 26, 2012, 12:10 PM	#2
Kid A macrumors regular Join Date: May 2008	the first thing i thought when the original iPad was introduced was "put a front facing camera on this thing, and it'd be awesome as an interactive face for a robotic pet grizzly bear!" looks like my dream may yet be on the horizon...
	3

Mar 26, 2012, 12:21 PM	#4
Wurm5150 macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2010	Wirelessly posted Whatup dawg?!
	2

Mar 26, 2012, 01:10 PM	#7
Pakaku macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2009	Knowing Japan, next we'll be seeing 50-story-high robots powered by iPads. It's only inevitable.
	3

Mar 26, 2012, 01:12 PM	#8
DESNOS macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2011	Only in japan.
	2

Mar 26, 2012, 01:29 PM	#10
thekris1234 macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2011	Don't worry Samsung will patent this soon.
	2

Mar 26, 2012, 03:00 PM	#15
Skika macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2009	Kawaii desu ne? __________________ Macbook Pro, iPad, iPhone
	0

Mar 26, 2012, 10:36 PM	#17
-SD- macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Peterborough, UK	And there I was contemplating all the sensible, useful things I could do with my current iPhone when the new model is released.... I do so love the Japanese and their crazy toys. And yes, iGundams would be awesome.
	3

Mar 28, 2012, 09:18 AM	#18
Benson11 Banned Join Date: Mar 2012	Lol..Yeah this can only possible in the country like Japan..Nothing to say only need to observe silently that how fast this world is moving on!!
	1

Mar 28, 2012, 09:21 AM	#19
Macman45 macrumors G4 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Somewhere Back In The Long Ago	err...The guy seems to spend most of his time trying to make the robot work...I doubt I'd buy one... __________________ Time And Tide Wait For No Man
	1

Mar 28, 2012, 09:55 AM	#20
DUSTmurph macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Detroit Rock City	So you wave your hand in front of the dog's face, it makes some noises, and walks around in random circles???? how fun. __________________ 24" iMac, 3.06 GHz, 4GB DDR2, 500GB HD 17" iMac, 800 MHz G4, 512 RAM (almost deceased) 3rd Gen Touch 32GB 1st Gen Touch 16GB (deceased) 3rd Gen iPod 20GB (deceased)
	1

Mar 29, 2012, 04:22 AM	#21
aoifeee macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2011	Definitely interested to see how much it will cost.
	0

Apr 3, 2012, 12:33 PM	#22
powers74 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: At the bend in the river	looks like something my uncle would buy. What a waste of cash... And plastic for that matter. __________________ "That's quite obsessive isn't it?!" -Ive
	0


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