The BOCCO communications robot

Technology venture Yukai Engineering are demonstrating their “Bocco” communications robot that features message send and receive functions to link up with a smartphone.

“For people such as the elderly or children or are not used to operating a smartphone, we hope this soft design doll-type robot will be enable spoken communications without presenting a psychological hurdle. The reason we haven’t included a camera with the device wasn’t due to hardware restrictions, but is so that users will not feel like they’re being watched. (Yukai representative Shunsuke Aoki)
In addition, block-type acceleration sensors can be installed on doors or windows so that opening and shutting can be received on a smartphone via Bocco for use with watch over applications.

The company is supported by a range of specialists from electronic manufacturers, people with experience in robotics contests, engineers from software ventures, industrial designers and so forth. The company name “Yukai”, which means pleasant or entertaining, comes from “To establish of an ideal factory that stresses a spirit of freedom and open-mindedness…” a phrase in the prospectus written by Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka upon founding the earlier company Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo.

The company’s USB social robot “Coconatch” was also a finalist in the Industrial Design category of the CEATEC Innovation Awards, as selected by US journalists.