Japan Is Making an Anime Girl Vacuum Bot

Um, thanks? I guess? This is Cocorobo-chan. It’s an anime girl vacuum cleaner you can talk to. The original Cocorobo launched a few years back, and it might look like a Roomba clone, but it’s way smarter, featuring speech recognition software and the ability to utter a few phrases.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); https://gizmodo.com/vacuum-bots-just-got-way-smarter-than-your-roomba-5962464 From Sharp’s Cloud Labs, the idea behind this “premium Cocorobo,” which is still in development, is voice acting meets manga meets home appliances. The result sounds like a more intelligent (and more kawaii) robot. According to NicoNico, it’s possible for premium Cocorobo users to converse with the device. Sixteen year-old voice actress Ibuki Kido, who voices Asami Himuro on the popular anime Aikatsu!, brings Cocorobo-chan to life as a kid-sister type character in vacuum bot form. (Note that “Cocorobo-chan” is not a finalized name.) Artist Kinusa Shimotsuki is handling the character’s illustrations. You can apparently have conversations with Cocorobo-chan mc888 like… User: “You have a cute voice.” Cocorobo-chan: “Thanks. You’re making me blush.” User: “You’re good at cleaning.” Cocorobo-chan: “N-not really. I’m not cleaning so you can compliment me.” Sharp, NicoNico reports, is responding to consumers who said they wanted a robot appliance with an appealing voice—or something. Right now, GetNews adds, the company is looking for eleven trial users to test this vacuum bot with for about a month. No word yet as to when (or if) it will go on sale. 「妹のような声」で会話できる”萌えCOCOROBO”シャープが開発　掃除能力をほめると喜ぶ [NicoNico] ロボット掃除機×萌えキャラ!? [GetNews] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice riches888pg of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning jinda44 from 4am to 8am.