Toyota to sell Kirobo Mini robot - Motioncars
Toyota Motor Corporation plans to launch sales of its compact and cuddlesome "Kirobo Mini" communication partner through Toyota vehicle dealers across Japan in 2017.The nationwide rollout will be preceded by presales at designated dealers in Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture this winter, for which advanced orders will be taken online.Kiboro Mini is tentatively priced at 39,800 yen (excluding tax).
Toyota Kirobo Mini:: cupholder-friendly companion robot launched in Japan
Toyota has launched in the palm-sized Kirobo Mini companion robot at the CEATEC electronics show currently under way in Tokyo.Based on an earlier design for an anthropomorphic space robot, the Kirobo Mini features cute anime-style design, and has a mouth and eyes that light up when it's interacting with humans.It's able to mimic some of the expressions and motions of a human baby, as it's able to bobble, blink, gesture, and move its head and arms.
Toyota unveils robot baby Kirobo Mini to up maternal instinct in an aging Japan
TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp on Monday unveiled a doe-eyed palm-sized robot, dubbed Kirobo Mini , designed as a synthetic baby companion in Japan, where plummeting birth rates have left many women childless.Toyota's non-automotive venture aims to tap a demographic trend that has put Japan at the forefront of aging among the world's industrial nations, resulting in a population contraction unprecedented for a country not at war, or racked by famine or disease."He wobbles a bit, and this is meant to emulate a seated baby, which hasn't fully developed the skills to balance itself," said Fuminori Kataoka, Kirobo Mini's chief design engineer."This vulnerability is meant to invoke an emotional connection.