If you have 30,000 yen per month lying around, and you have problems with mobility due to physical handicap or warcraft, consider renting Japan’s recently unveiled robotic dog nurse.
One of the main functions of this robobitch is to carry stuff—up to about 4 pounds of whatever’s weighing you down.
There’s also a camera on the pup’s back for surveillance purposes of some kind. The dog weighs around 11 pounds, stands about 28 inches high and 21 inches wide. It is obvious that robots will play a visible role in the field of health care in the future. Yes, the enslavement of robots is on the horizon. The robotic dog nurse is on lease for five years, but there’s no telling when it will be on sale. Hopefully soon, because I want a bagel and I really don’t feel like getting it.

[Wired]

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]