If you worry about your pets getting lonely while you’re gone, a new robotic companion might be the perfect solution. Aura is the robotic “pet butler” designed to keep your furry friends company while you’re away from home. Developed by the AI service provider Tuya, this smiling robotic assistant can wheel around the house, filming and interacting with your pet. Equipped with a digital smile, voice module, and the ability to shoot treats out of its face, Aura claims to address your pet’s “deeper emotional needs.” The robot is claimed to have the ability to accurately interpret a pet’s emotional state through behavior and sound analysis. Owners will then receive automatic reports through their smartphones, telling them whether their pooch is happy, sad, anxious or excited. Aura can even play family photographer, autonomously capturing your pet’s memorable moments while you’re busy working, shopping, or running errands. Aura is a 3-wheeled robot that looks like an iPad stuck to a hamster wheel. It’s body is hollow, apparently to allow cats to ride around inside the robot. It uses a pair of cameras to give it depth perception and can autonomously navigate your home. There’s some bad news though — Aura moves freely throughout the home, seeking out pets to interact with them, and that can be a problem for nervous cats. Now for even worse news — Tuya hasn’t yet revealed when the pet butler will become commercially available or how much it will cost.
