Robo-pets will replace the real thing in ten years

It is said that artificial pets can produce the same benefits for their human companion as the real deal which indicates that our emotional bond with companion animals is really just an image we project on our pets. Personally, I don’t believe it.

Aibo
Aibo. Click on image for larger version.

Nicky Trevorrow of Cats Protection, a major cat rescue organisation in the UK, said that this vision of the future of pets is depressing.

‘Programmed affection is no substitute for the real two-way bond between a pet and its owner. It is sad to think a lump of metal could take the place of a sentient being with a unique personality.’

The Pros and cons of programmed pets is stated to be as follows:

Pros:

  • Don’t foul carpets – no ‘inappropriate elimination’
  • Don’t shed hair – that will please some people
  • No allergies to cats! – that will please lots of people
  • Hot cars don’t bother them
  • Don’t require food and water
  • Don’t need walking
  • Don’t get lost
  • No worries about getting injured
  • No vet visits!
  • No pet insurance
  • Cat haters could not hate robo-cats
  • Can you think of some more…..?
Cons:
  • They die when exposed to rain
  • They require electricity
  • They have artificial intelligence
  • Love is programmed!
  • They die when obsolete
  • They die when there is no longer service support from the manufacturer
  • They are not unpredictable and independent if they are a cat

A Japanese robotic dog built by Sony, Aibo, is the world’s most successful robotic dog. About 150,000 have been sold. Sony stopped making them in 2006 but people still possess and relate to them as pets but Sony no longer repairs them so as a breed they are becoming extinct! Owners give them funerals when they finally conk out.

Dr Rault, a veterinary scientist, said:

‘It might sound surreal for us to have robotic or virtual pets, but it could be totally normal for the next generation’

Dr Rault believes that robo-pets will replace the real thing in a decade. He adds that making robotic cats is harder than making robotic dogs because “you have to make them unpredictable.” You’ll never be able to substitute the cat with a robot!

Although I disagree with the doctor, there may be some people who are suited to having a robo-pet. I am thinking of the many people who are unsuited to keeping a sentient being as a pet. They are unsuited to this responsibility because they relate to their cat or dog as an inanimate object, a machine. Giving them a robo-pet is exactly what they need. It would reduce cat abandonments and ease up the pressure on cat shelters/rescues and reduce euthanasia rates.

People who abandon cats and dogs for totally unjustifiable reasons could throw away a robo-pet and no one would have the right to criticize them.

13 thoughts on “Robo-pets will replace the real thing in ten years”

  1. I have thought of a situation where robo-pets might be useful – vetting of potential owners by shelters.

    We’re all aware of the problems with pets that people get on the spur of the moment and lose interest in it after a few days. Perhaps, shelters could rent out robotic pets so that people can decide if they really want a pet. Like those computerised newborn dolls used to put young girls off wanting a baby, the robo pet could be programmed with the need to be fed frequently and given sufficient attention. It might also help parents make the decision on whether their children are ready for the repsonsibility of pet ownership.

  2. Dr Rault greatly underestimates the joy of living with a real cat if he believes that robo pets will replace the real thing in a decade.

    Back in 2001 a Japanese firm produced a robot cat called the NeCoRo. The concept was to provide feline companionship to those living in homes which forbid the real thing. There was also the suggestion that NeCoRo would make a good “therapy” pet because of their lap-cat qualities. An initial 5,000 were manufactured to test the market’s reaction. Whilst they sold out quickly, I don’t think any more were ever manufactured and they now command high prices on the re-sale market.

    I found a video clip of a NeCoRo Youtube and interestingly the guy says he got it because his wife wouldn’t allow him to adopt a 4th real cat. I have to say it’s better than I’d anticipated and these particular robo-cats were programmed with a “feeling mechanism”, meaning they could disply displeasure as well as happiness.

    https://youtu.be/xqCfXDgiXfU

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqCfXDgiXfU

  3. As an entertaining gadget I can see a robo pet as a fun novelty toy, but it wouldn’t come anywhere close to replacing a real animal.

    I love the feel of fur or the gentle vibrations of a purring cat the warmth of their belly when they’ve been curled up sleeping and their independent nature. I wouldn’t get any of that from a robo pet.

  4. I can actually see this coming about. Not universally but a significant number of people opting for robo-cats when they have refined the technology so that it really satisfies the emotional needs of some pet owners. A lot of pet owners probably do project their emotional needs onto their pet rather than truly interacting and seeing their cat as a sentient individual with a personality and emotions of his own. The human is terribly messed up and fearful.

  5. Well, this reminds me of the dolls that people (mostly women) buy, and pretend they are real babies. This is a huge market,for women who can’t have real babies. And I believe that they’re very pricey. They are more than just dolls. Women treat them like babies. I’ll have to look up the information, but I saw it online sometime ago.

    This is a little different than the pet robot, because the purpose is to give the woman something to care for, not the opposite!

    What a strange culture we live in!

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