Last year, I wrote about the Casio Moflin, a fluffy robotic pet with AI emotional intelligence, that was taking Japan by storm.
After writing about the cute little creature, I forgot about it, completely expecting Casio to limit the release to Japan and never get to see the Guinea Pig-like robot in the fur.
To my surprise, Casio reached out last week following the official launch of Moflin in the UK (You can preorder now for a hefty £369 /$419) and offered to send over one of the AI-powered pets for me to check out.
Of course, I said yes, I mean, who could say no to the incredibly cute Moflin? Fast forward to today, I’ve been living with Moflin for just over 72 hours, and I’ve got my initial thoughts on how I’ve felt having a pet capable of “emotional support powered by intelligence.”
Here’s what it’s like living with an AI-powered furball, how people react to it, and how I’ve tried to convince my wife and dog that Moflin is part of the family now, whether they like it or not.
MEET MOFLIN
A knock at the door, but when I answer, there’s no one there, just an inconspicuous cardboard box. There’s not much inside, just a grey-coloured ball of fur and its wireless charging bed (yes, you need to charge Moflin every 5 hours or so).
There’s nothing else in the box apart from a Japanese plug converter and a paper manual written in what I suspect is Kanji. As Moflin isn’t shipping for another 6 weeks in the UK, my unit is from the Japanese launch, but anyone buying one of these in a Western market will have instructions in English.
Anyways, even without being able to truly understand the manual (ChatGPT came in handy for translation), setting up Moflin is what you’d expect from the arrival of an alien creature in your home – you kind of just let it sleep until it starts to feel a little less shy, at which point it’s time to make it feel at home.
I downloaded the MofLife app; it’s only available in Japanese at the time of writing, but it will be ready for the English launch. The app is far more barebones than I expected. It shows you info on your Moflin’s battery life, how many days it has been “alive”, and a breakdown of its personality into categories: Cheerful, Shy, Energetic, and Affectionate.
At first, I was confused at the lack of options, but after living with Moflin, I now realize that the experience is meant to feel like having a real pet; it emotionally develops, adding new noises and new head gestures over the course of time based on how you interact with it. In essence, it’s the least intelligent, most intelligent robot you’ll probably ever get your hands on.You may like
