At CES 2020, one of the more well-represented gadget categories was definitely consumer robots but none was more adorable than MarsCat, a new robo-pet from industrial robot startup Elephant Robotics.
This robot pet is a fully autonomous companion that can respond to touch, voice and even play with toys, and its hard not to love the thing after spending even just a brief amount of time with it.MarsCats pedigree is a bit unusual, since Elephant Robotics is focused on building whats known as cobots, or industrial robots that are designed to work alongside humans in settings like factories or assembly plants.
Elephant, which was founded in 2016, already produces three lines of these collaborative robots and has sold them to client companies around the world, including in Korea, the United States , Germany and more.This new product is designed for the home, however, not the factory or the lab.
MarsCat is the startups first consumer product, but it obviously benefits immensely from the companys expertise and experience in their industrial robotics business.
With its highly articulated legs, tail and head, it can sit up, walk play and watch your movements, all working autonomously without any additional input required.While MarsCat provides that kind of functionality out of the box, its also customizable and programmable by the user.
Inside, its powered by a Raspberry Pi, and it ships with MarsCat SDK, which is an open software development library that allows you to fully control and program all of the robots functions.
This makes it an interesting gadget for STEM education and research, too.MarsCat is currently up for crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with Elephant having already surpassed its goal of $20,000 and on track to raise at least $100,000 more than that target.
Elephant Robotics CEO and co-founder Joey Song told me that it actually plans to ship its first batch of production MarsCats to users in March, too, so backers shouldnt have to wait long to enjoy their new robotic pet.[gallery ids="1931424,1931421,1931422,1931425,1931428,1931426"]There are other robotic pets available on the market, but Song thinks that MarsCat has a unique blend of advanced features at a price point thats currently unmatched by existing options.
The robot can respond to a range of voice commands, and will also evolve its personality over time based on how you interact with it: Talk to it a lot, and itll also become chatty; play with it frequently and itll be a playful kitty.
That, combined with the open platform, is a lot to offer for the asking backer price of just $699 to start.Sonys Aibo, the canine equivalent of MarsCat, retails for $2,899 in the United States , so its a bargain when considered in that light.
And unlike the real thing, MarsCat definitely doesnt shed, so its got that going for it, too.