Links:

Kitty: Sketches

Kitty: Schematics

Roscoe

Nekoro

B.I.O bug

Aibo by Sony

Robotic pets are, according to their manufacturers, not toys, but substitute pets. These little guys are easy to pack, so you won't miss their companionship while traveling. These little guys won't bark or pee on the carpet, but if you want realism, there is a switch you can flip to allow these things to happen. These little guys make loyal pets that even come with a warrenty.

Manley Toy Quest is a company that has been making electronic toys for the past 25 years. They specialize in robotic pets, Kitty and Roscoe, to name a couple. Kitty has a mechine looking exterior, and it does tricks. Roscoe is a robotic frog, it catches flies, but only the fly it comes packed with.

Omron takes a different approach in making its Nekoro. It is also a robot cat, but instead of sporting the mechine look, it is covered in soft fur and designed to resemble a real live cat. Nekoro is loaded with sensors. Its attraction lies not in its ability to do tricks but in its capacity to respond to its owner; petting Nekoro differently will cause different reactions from the robotic cat. It gets angry when treated violently; it sleeps or cuddles according to its own physiological rhythms.

The BIObug incorporates the Nervous Network Technology used by the U.S. government to create robotic living creatures. Nervous Net is to a body what a spine is to an organism, serving to connect functions together. As a result, you get a bug that comes and goes, while changing its behavior as it interacts with the environment. B.I.O bug is made by Hasbro, Inc.'s subdivision WowWee Toy.