JAPAN: Japanese toy maker unveils tiny chick robot

Record ID: 402000

  • Title: JAPAN: Japanese toy maker unveils tiny chick robot
  • Date: 13th April 2007
  • Summary: (L!3) TOKYO, JAPAN (APRIL 6, 2007) (REUTERS) CHICKEN FARM STAFF MASAHIRO OKADA KNEELING AND PETTING CHICKS CLOSE UP OF OKADA LIVE CHICKS AND ROBOT CHICKS ON THE GROUND CHICKS AND ROBOT CHICK(RIGHT) OKADA PETTING ROBOT CHICK SITTING ON HIS PALM CLOSE UP OF ROBOT CHICK ON OKADA'S PALM (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MASAHIRO OKADA, CHICKEN FARM STAFF SAYING: "I think it is good
  • Embargoed: 28th April 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA8LG82WT3G064O9EQNXNRLSA0E
  • Story Text: Japanese toy maker showcases baby chicks that look realistic enough for even real chicks to get confused.
    A Japanese toy maker unveiled a fluffy robotic toy, the latest addition to its mechanical pet series, which include a dog, cat and pony.
    A tiny, palm-sized robot named Yume Hiyoko -- meaning dream chick -- is one of the very "real" virtual pets that have come into the market this April.
    The chick has touch sensors that triggers it to chirp or flap its tiny wings when it is stroked gently along its back.
    Masahiro Okada, who works at the Ome chicken farm in Tokyo, said the robotic chick looked very similar to the real chicks living on his farm.
    Okata concluded that even if the robots could not move, it would make for a great pet.
    "I think it is good as a pet because you don't have to feed it and clean its droppings," he said, although he commented that the robot's chirp was a bit different from the real thing.
    But unlike Okada's real chicks, the fluffy robot cannot move.
    Sega Toys said even if it had to sacrifice the robot's mobility, it decided to cater to what customers would prefer more - a robot that looked like a real chick.
    "The toy chick is modeled after a three or four day-old chick since the chicks at this stage seem to be the cutest. So in a way, we fulfilled animal lovers' dreams of keeping the cutest chick forever," said Minako Sakanoue, spokeswoman at Sega Toys.
    The company said the robots are designed to be used as a soothing pet which you can take on the go and touch anytime.
    The robots have gone on sale for 2,310 yen (19 U. S. dollars) each in the beginning of April. The company said it sold almost all of its first shipping of 8,000 chicks in several days.
    A quirky story.
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