In real life, a little fat robotic creature called Paro with fleece as white as snow, that looks like a cross between a puppy and a baby seal and that is filled with sensors and microprocessor circuitry, is beginning to pop up in places where there are people who are in need of soothing - in a rehab center, an old people's home, at a children's hospital.
When its name is called, when it is stroked, when soft comforting words were whispered to it, it responds with appreciation and with cute vulnerable little sounds that would warm anyone's heart.
Check Other Live Content News and Tips.
It was designed by Takanori Shibata of the Intelligent System Research Institute of Japan's AIST beginning in 1993. It was first exhibited to the public in late 2001 and handmade versions have been sold commercially since 2004.
The name of the robot is Paro - derived from the first syllables of the terms Personal Robot. It's one of a bunch of primitive and yet emotionally rewarding little robots that are designed to help and offer companionship to people in need.
The technology will improve one day, and we certainly will begin to have robots to read a bedtime story to a kid or play with the child or something.
More on Live Content News and Tips.
