Tombot is a robotic companion dog that’s designed to provide companionship for the elderly and people with dementia, cognitive impairment and others facing mental health challenges.
The robot’s name is Jennie and looks like a labrador retriever and can respond to touch and sound – just like a real dog.
It has interactive sensors so it can react based on how it is touched and stroked and in response it will move its head and wag its tail and make sounds.
Jennie will also react to voice commands and make sounds recorded from a 12-week labrador puppy for added realism.
Tombot also has a smartphone companion app which allows users to give the puppy its own name and to customise the functionality.
Tombot is the brainchild of Tom Stevens whose mother was suffering dementia and it reached a point where she could no longer care for her dog.
The loss of her pet sent her into a severe depression and loneliness so Stevens made the decision to create a robotic alternative so his mother could still enjoy the companionship and feedback a real dog would provide but without needing to take care of it.
Tombot was designed and built using technology and animatronic techniques from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
* Stephen Fenech travelled to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with support from Samsung, Hisense, LG, ASUS, Roborock and Ecovacs.