Toyota turns to robots

Toyota has produced a palm-sized robot that can hold conversations and provide companionship. The 10cm-high Kirobo Mini is set to go on sale in Japan next year, the BBC reports. The robot can tailor conversations to include comments about journeys, based on data from its owner's vehicle. It also has childlike attributes, but a robotics expert tells the BBC a robot cannot be a substitute for a child. Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, from the school of computer science at the University of Hertfordshire, says the “cute” robot may appeal to young people. “It reminded me of the Tamagotchi - the idea of having a cute little thing that is not necessarily giving you the impression that it is alive but has these life-like attributes,” she says. “They are appealing to people's nurturing instincts.” However, Dautenhahn says it is “offensive” to believe the robot could be a child substitute for women without children, as some reports have suggested. Some of Toyota's marketing material shows women cradling the robot, but the company does not explicitly make this claim. “It might make people feel good, but there is no human component here, robots cannot be substitutes for children,” Dautenhahn says. Toyota says Kirobo Mini can engage in “casual conversation”, using gestures, facial expressions and blinking; it can remember user preferences and previous events, such as likes, dislikes and outings; and it can use data from connected devices, such as those in the home or car, to generate comments. It has a provisional price tag of NZ$400 (39,800 yen), and there are no plans to sell it outside of Japan. Kirobo Mini's predecessor, a 34cm robot called Kirobo, was sent up to the International Space Station in 2013 to accompany Japanese astronaut Kochi Wakata, as part of a study about isolation. Watch how the Kirobo Mini reacts when riding in a car and the emergency brakes are applied: