Cuddly Robots

Cuddly robots are coming. This is the opposite end of the spectrum of the dark side of virtual assistants. These robots seem to bring out the best in us and help inspire us to be better to each other.

One example is the Paro Robot at CES:

Another from a few years back was Keepon, a toy designed to help autistic children make eye contact.

A few years back, I met with the team behind UBC’s TAMER and CuddleBot. It was incredible to see that people were creating devices to help calm down those who were anxious and afraid.

Within the next two years, the technology behind these devices will likely proliferate and be available to mass market consumer toys. These robots will teach us more about ourselves and how we can be in more control of our emotions and reactions.