This summer vacation while visiting my sister in the UK and having a lovely visit with her neighbour Janet, I got the opportunity to experience the with a Joy For All robot kitty firsthand.
This robotic pet was created to help people with Dementia and Alzheimers enjoy the soothing experience of having a pet without the great responsibility that it incurs.
Janet bought her cat simply to have something cuddly and lifelike around without having to take care of a pet – something a much more engaging and lovable than a stuffed toy (no offence to stuffed toys!).
This cat was quite enjoyable to interact with, it purrs, meows, is very soft with flexible limbs and movable ears – it even has its own brush.
It does a few tricks like rolling over and raising its paws! Overall it’s a fun and interesting experience and it reminded me that human beings need companionship and comfort and sometimes we can get a little help from technology.
Janet also happened to have this custom designed leopard painted on her shed, complete with movable tail. The design of the mechanism was simple and effective, with a coat hanger and rotating wooden disk. The eyes are led’s and the entire thing can be turned off and on using a Philips Hue plug. It made me wonder – why do I consider this a robot? Although it’s not capable of changing its behaviour based on input, I categorise it somewhere along the lines of Animatronics.
Speaking of animatronics, here is a video of animatronic dinosaurs from our recent visit to the Leiden Naturalis museum and some dinosaur fossils!
Well, thats all for now, I wish for you to also spot many robots in the wild – happy hunting!
RoboRabbitLabs 
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