By David Ponce
The SmartPet is being released by Bandai, the same company that made the Tamagotchi. So we know there’s likely going to be an element of long term care and nurturing to this little creation. It uses your iPhone as its brain (and face) and the (free) associated application allows for a variety of interactions. It can make over 100 faces, and uses the front facing camera to try and recognize gestures. As it gets more emotionally attached to you it’ll be able to learn more and more gestures. It can even interact, sing, and dance with other dogs through Bluetooth.
The application will be released March 31st, but you’ll have to wait until April 24th, in Japan, to be able to buy one for $78. In the meantime you can entertain yourself sans dog, but retain some of the dignity you will inevitably lose if you’re anywhere over the age of 12 and in possession of this somewhat creepy toy.
[ Press Release (Japanese PDF) ] VIA [ The Verge ]
The two images that pop up on the top worry me. the one on the right is clearly reflecting what the robot sees through the camera. But what’s that picture next to it? The video’s kind of grainy, but I get the distinct impression that that’s a photo of Sarah Connor that it’s running biometrics against.