Dog Wan (”Wan” means bow-wow in Japanese, and also “Watch, Assist, Nurse”) from Daisen Denshi Kogyo has passed the prototype stage after four more months of development. The robot was designed to resemble an old-style robot to make it more familiar and friendlier. It weighs 5kg, which is about a puppy’s weight, and it uses 24 axes to move.

Dog Wan can shake its tail, move its head, run around, and it will even carry your shopping bag in its mouth to help you out. Dog Wan is available for rental at $185 to $280 monthly for up to 5 years. It’s pretty cute as far as robot dogs go. If a robot animal is going to turn on me one day, I’d like it to be this one.

[Crunchgear]