From tiny cats that relax tea to a blinking AI companion supposed to mix together with your family members, listed below are seven cute robots which have dominated info feeds since last week’s Shopper Electronics Current – and what they inform us about “cuteness” in design.
Cuteness and what it does to our brains has been a subject of scientific enquiry for a while now. The sight of a kid or pet has been confirmed to activate areas inside the thoughts associated to emotion and pleasure and to set off empathy and compassion.
This has led to the idea cuteness inside product design might very effectively be used as a software program to differ shopper behaviour, with designers exploring the difficult nature of cuteness via works akin to a toaster that sneezes bread crumbs and a vacuum cleaner that poos when it’s full.
And judging from last week’s Shopper Electronics Current (CES) in Las Vegas, 2025 is the 12 months this idea actually landed. Is the aim to simply convey considerably pleasure into our lives? Or to encourage us to embrace utilized sciences we’d in every other case be important of?
Be taught on for seven units from CES that caught our consideration for his or her attention-grabbing use of cuteness.
Mirumi by Yukai Engineering
Designed to do nothing apart from be cute, Mirumi charmed the crowds at CES with its harmlessness. The fluffy robotic clips onto a bag or strap and seems out on the world via in depth, spherical eyes like a human little one full of shock and curiosity.
It moreover expresses shyness, turning its head away and hiding if any individual will get too shut too immediately.
The abstracted, minimal design demonstrates the flip facet of the phenomenon known as “uncanny valley”. Whereas artificial creations that look too lifelike are more likely to discomfort people, we’ll uncover an uncomplicated smiley face or cartoon character deeply relatable.
Nékojita FuFu by Yukai Engineering
Solidifying its dominance on this planet of cute-but-frivolous robotics, Japanese agency Yukai Engineering moreover showcased Nékojita FuFu – a tiny minimalistic cat that does nothing larger than blow air to relax down scorching meals and drinks.
Named after the sound folks make after they blow out, the robotic makes use of a selected “Fu-ing” algorithm that anthropomorphically randomises the vitality and rhythm of its blowing by means of an interior fan.
It’d sound uncommon that this novelty machine obtained quite a bit consideration at CES, the similar hyper-competitive tech truthful the place Nvidia dropped an AI supercomputer scarcely larger than a deck of enjoying playing cards.
Nonetheless, it’s potential that the overwhelming tempo of improvement and nervousness over the anticipated arrival of an artificial frequent intelligence, is precisely what makes straightforward Nékojita FuFu so fascinating.
Ai Me by TCL
Simple was not the watchword amongst all the companies harnessing cuteness, however. Usually, the cartoonish product design is meant to help prospects actually really feel an emotional connection to what might in every other case be a tricky, shiny and even off-putting tech product.
This seems to be true for the Ai Me companion robotic from US agency TCL. Like Yukai Engineering’s Mirumi, the design takes cues from human infants – although on this case, the machine is stuffed with sensors, cameras and AI tech.
Along with being an interactive toy for the youthful members of the family, the machine is designed to help out adults by syncing with good residence devices, independently roaming the home to watch security and seize films of day-to-day life.
The robotic’s cute, spherical sort is enhanced by its digital blinking eyes, arms that flap with pleasure and even changeable textile outfits – like an anthropomorphic improvement of the cosy experience improvement. Whereas Ai Me is an concept at this stage, TCL confirmed a working prototype at CES.
Loona by KEYi Tech
Like Ai Me, Loona brings AI tech and surveillance into the home by fascinating to the youngest members of the family. It may be customised with outfits – this time crocheted.
Nevertheless whereas Ai Me is primarily impressed by infants, Loona is modelled on pets and derives its cuteness from animal-like behaviours akin to waggling its ears, chasing balls or laser pointers for play, and stretching and sneezing when it wakes up.
Loona is already that may be bought and Chinese language language producer KEYi Tech suggests it makes an excellent companion robotic not just for kids and adults nevertheless for the true family pet, which might in every other case be at residence alone for lots of hours of the day.
Ballie by Samsung
Whereas not as exaggeratedly cute as the alternative robots on this guidelines, Samsung’s AI robotic assistant Ballie has been labelled with this time interval as a result of it made its debut as an concept once more at CES 2020.
It is a conventional occasion of how cuteness is about larger than appears to be; on this case, it is largely a component of Ballie’s bijou dimension and the zippy method it strikes spherical, which have prolonged earned it comparisons to the Star Wars mini ball droid BB-8.
Updated for CES 2025 and anticipated to lastly launch as a product this 12 months, Ballie is supposed to be an entire personal residence assistant that will deal with good dwelling tools, ship video updates of pets or members of the family at residence, mission films, play music and reply calls.
Jennie by Tombot
Created in collaboration with Jim Henson’s Creature Retailer, the puppet workshop primarily based by the creator of The Muppets, Jennie is a departure from the alternative cute robots on this guidelines in its realism.
Whereas to some, the uncanny valley affect is also inescapable proper right here, for US producer Tombot the verisimilitude is significant on account of it helps Jennie be part of with people who’ve dementia or cognitive impairment to supply some much-needed companionship.
Jennie is a robotic pet and a robotic pet solely – no surveillance or chatbot conversations. It responds to pats and voice directions, produces AI-generated barks and serves as a cuddly emotional assist.
Reolink Duo 3 WiFi by Reolink
Tech agency Reolink doesn’t level out cuteness as a design decision inside the press launch for its Duo 3 WiFi surveillance digital digital camera. Nevertheless its twin lenses clearly resemble a pair of large, googly eyes with antennas for ears.
If this could be a surveillance digital digital camera with an intentionally nice face, then cuteness has correctly and actually arrived as a dominant – and unsettling – aesthetic in tech.
CES 2025 took place in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 January 2025. See Dezeen Events Info for an up-to-date guidelines of construction and design events taking place world broad.