Robot dog from Japan plays dead if your socks stink

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Breath scent detection robot "Kaori-chan"(Photo: RKB Radio blog)
Breath scent detection robot “Kaori-chan”
(Photo: RKB Radio Broadcasting’s blog)

Crazy Labo and Next Technology, LLC., two startups from Japan’s western city of Fukuoka, have jointly invented a couple of scent detection robots.  One is the human-looking Kaori-chan, and the other – Shuntaro – is made to resemble a dog. 

The lady robot is designed to measure the whether or not your breath smells ok, in the interests of promoting oral hygiene. When you breathe on her, she will respond with one of four different behaviors. If your breathe is ok, you will hear a chime that tells you are okay. If it’s not great, she rings another chime to indicate as much. But if your breath has some serious problems, she will be screaming. And if it really stinks completely, she will look like she’s out of order.

shuntaro
Shuntaro (Photo: RKB Radio)

As for Shuntaro the dog, he measures how much your socks smell. And similarly, there are four ways that he will react. If he finds your socks smell nice, he will come a little closer to you.

If the smell is not so great, he will look at you and bark several times. If you smell really bad, he will snarl. And if you smell especially awful (ru-roh!), he will play dead.

The company expects to rent these robots for festivals or exhibitions, helping organizers attract and entertain their attendees.

Tokyo’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper has visited their offices to how the robots behave. Check their video here for more information.