We all need a Lovot to love

Lovot. © Groove X, Inc.

All Lovot wants is to be loved. And to this end, Kaname Hayashi, a former developer of the humanoid robot Pepper, made the robot irresistible, like a hybrid between a stuffed penguin and a teletubby baby with large dreamy eyes. It doesn’t even speak, it just makes cute cooing sounds. Its only purpose is to elicit affection. You can’t use it to place an order on Amazon with Alexa. It doesn’t monitor your home. “This robot won’t do any of your work. In fact, it might just get in the way,” Hayashi told Bloomberg. “Everything about this robot is designed to create attachment.” Lovot can be pre-ordered now and delivery is expected by the end of 2019. The price is 349,000 JPY (3,220 USD, 4,270 CAD) with a monthly fee of 9,980 JPY (92 USD, 122 CAD). And we say that you can’t buy love...

⇨ The Verge, “Lovot is the first robot I can see myself getting emotionally attached to.”