(Credit: Beth Skwarecki)
LAS VEGAS—I wasn't expecting to find love at CES, but Tombot's Jennie stole my heart. I've been charmed by other robot pets before, like the headless Qoobo cat pillow, but Jennie, the winner of our Best Age Tech category at CES, is the most realistic one I've seen yet.
Powered by nine servo motors, Jennie can move its head to look at you, raise its eyebrows, wag its tail, and even bark when you ask if it wants a treat. Inside, Jennie features capacitive touch sensors to detect when you pet it, a microphone array to hear you, an accelerometer and gyroscope to understand its orientation, a light sensor to prevent barking at night, and temperature sensors to detect and report on the environment.
(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)It's specifically designed for seniors with dementia, and intended to sit on your lap, a table, or a chair, not on the floor, where it might pose a fall risk. That said, I can see Jennie being helpful for anyone facing loneliness.
Following nine years of research and development, Tombot finally expects to bring Jennie to market this summer, CEO and founder Tom Stevens told me. Like any purebred, Jennie won't come cheap at $1,500.
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Jennie promises all-day battery life and is meant to be plugged in to charge overnight. It works with a companion app that allows you to rename the robot, so it responds to your chosen nickname.
"The smartphone app connects via Bluetooth or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi," Stevens says. "We wanted our first version to be completely locked down from a data privacy and data security standpoint, so the only way you can connect to the robot is literally be in the same room."
(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)Next to my pitbull, Bradley, Jennie is just about the cutest dog I've ever met, and it's not even real. Being away from Bradley is always hard, but Jennie succeeded in providing me with some emotional support here at CES. If you want a dog without the responsibility of owning one, this robotic Labrador retriever puppy might be the next best thing.