Remember the bipedal i-SOBOT? Well, it’s got a quadraped counterpart that may well surpass its capabilities and how. Meet the i-SODOG Robotic Dog by Tomy that move automatically, recognizes 50 spoken words, and shakes hands and does more. Armed with sensors in the front and the back, the robot can also be controlled via your phone, using an app. I-SODOG uses 15 ultra-compact servomotor units that make it smaller and more affordable. The makers said, “For the first time, we’ve given this robot what people would call a sixth sense, the ability to communicate through static electricity, which dogs and cats are said to be able to do, as well as sharks. So for example, if one of these robots communicates to another that it’s hungry, the other robot can say, “OK, let’s eat together.” As soon as a person touches the two robots, they can communicate and exchange information. We’ve already finished developing i-SODOG, so we hope to release it early next year. We’re aiming for its price to be 31,500 yen (~US$400), including tax.”

Akihabara News