COVID 19 lockdown has had a devastating effect on mental health. According to this CDC study, 40% of US adults reported a mental health or substance related issue during this time, with a majority of issues around anxiety and depression. Stress, anxiety and depression can dysregulate our immune system by producing excess cortisol, thereby increasing our odds of getting infections, cancer or other diseases. But, according to this publication, even a 15 minute interaction with a pet can drastically reduce our cortisol levels and release oxytocin and other positive chemicals helping us live longer and better.
However, many of us may not want to commit to caring a pet, or have the facilities at home to do so. The elderly or the disabled may not have the ability to care of a pet. What if we got all the upsides of interaction with little downsides? That’s exactly what robotic pets are!
If you are imagining one of those shiny robots with an artificial voice and bizarre jerky movements, I am not talking about them! MOFLIN is a soft, furry hamster-like pet robot with cute sounds that soothe your soul. This CES Innovation award winner will absolutely steal your heart!
First look: This super cute furry robot has does not have legs or tail. Without its eyes, MOFLIN is just like a ball of fur! MOFLIN is 16 cm long and weighs 300g. MOFLIN has movable parts around its neck and makes limited preprogrammed movements combined with an infinite combination of natural purring sounds. The sounds are chosen based on the emotion MOFLIN would like to communicate.
Battery: MOFLIN uses lithium ion batteries and can last 6–9 hours before recharge. The rechargeable battery pad is designed like a bird’s nest and LED indicators on them indicating the charging levels. There are no indicators on MOFLIN itself. The battery is expected to take 4 hours until fully charged. Expected life for common Lithium Ion batteries are 2 years, but Vanguard Industries are looking to expand the battery life so the robot lives as long as a real pet.
Maintenance: If you ever owned a large pet, you would know the pain of maintaining it! Your pets need frequent bathing and cleaning, and you need to empty its litter box everyday. With MOFLIN, you don’t have to worry about the litter! MOFLIN also comes with a zipper removable fur that can be washed easily!
Shipping and logistics: Vanguard Industries currently accepts pledge to ensure this concept turns to reality. You can make a pledge here. The expected price per unit is around $400 and MOFLIN can be shipped to any location globally. The company commits to sustainability and uses reusable and recyclable materials in packaging.
Software updates and support: Vanguard industries is considering developing an app that talks to MOFLIN through Bluetooth. This app (details unknown yet), may have options for software updates and contacting IT support in case your MOFLIN gets sick! Just kidding.
Now for the fun part! How MOFLIN works:
MOFLIN has emotional intelligence! This means, unlike your $30 battery operated barking dog, MOFLIN can sense its environment and feel emotions. These emotions aren’t a set of repetitive preprogrammed ones, but rather spontaneous, making MOFLIN much like a real pet. The array of emotions include happy, sad, excited, lethargic, anxious, calm, stressed and secure. MOFLIN’s emotions can be any of these or a combination of these. MOFLINs, like humans, respond to environmental stimulus. For instance, when we are in an unknown environment, we feel anxious. However, unlike a simple IF-ELSE, MOFLIN has a nature inspired AI algorithm, which means no-one can really predict how your MOFLIN may respond. This algorithm also makes sure MOFLINS evolve, have its own personality, and change as its owner’s emotions change. A lot of MOFLIN’s personality depends on how the owner treats it! So, this robot is so much more than one of those battery operated stuffed toys. This robot can teach you responsibility!
Why am I excited about this? There are many other robotic pets including PARO that emotionally connects with owners
The first look at this product can be deceiving. For instance, this pet doesn’t really do much and definitely does not look like a real animal. But, one of the major challenges with artificial intelligence is to mimic human like emotions. For instance, even when a dog didn’t get his treat, he may suffer in silence if he notices his owner is having a meltdown. But then, if this owner has frequent meltdowns, his dog many not care so much and demand his treat anyway! A lot of what goes on are complex interactions of two emotional creatures that cannot be preprogrammed or preconditioned. The claimed levels of emotional sophistication of MOFLIN are exciting, and may lead to more products with an emotional chip.
Well, but what about PARO? Compared to PARO and other soft robots for seniors, MOFLIN is much cheaper (PARO is $6000) and can be a regular companion for all ages. Due to high costs, robots like PARO are shared in assisted care and suffers from hygiene concerns, especially during COVID whereas MOFLIN is affordable and easy to wash. Vanguard Industries hasn’t gone overboard with designing a lifelike robot with higher degrees of freedom for movement. Further, MOFLIN focuses on touch sensing and doesn’t use computer vision for facial recognition. By avoiding facial recognition to sense emotions, the company avoids dangers such as biases. Overall, rather than overpromising and underdelivering, Vanguard Industries focused on what matters (emotional connection), and made the product affordable and lovable for all!
So should I put my dog or cat for adoption and buy a MOFLIN? Great question! While emotional intelligence has developed significantly, there are plenty of concerns. For instance, MOFLINs like to be with other MOFLINs, and humans may probably never understand how they interact with each other! There is also emerging skepticism around biases and ethics in emotional AI as highlighted in this HBR article.
There may also be evolving risks as children or elderly get emotionally attached to MOFLIN (they could, as long as they don’t realize MOFLINs have a battery for a heart and have removable skins). For instance, if the MOFLIN is continuously stressed or anxious, would its owner become stressed too? We also don’t have enough evidence to suggest your pets may like MOFLIN. MOFLINs may have long term influential powers that may not be fully explored today.
In short, MOFLIN and robotic pets solve a huge gap in current technology and bring significant therapeutic benefits to those who cannot have a real pet. MOFLIN may help battle loneliness, depression, dementia etc. (Vanguard Industries Inc is still conducting studies to highlight therapeutic benefits). But it might not be worth trading a real pet just yet!
If you are interested in MOFLIN, you can read their Kickstarter page here.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are based on published facts or my opinion and not a paid promotion.
