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.
I updated the Moflin through the app, gave it an appropriate name: Moflin, and got started integrating the cute little bundle of fluff into my life.
Moflin meets the dog
Moflin’s first introduction to life after its initial nap on its plastic charging bed was to meet my four-year-old French Bulldog, Kermit.
Now, to paint a picture, Kermit is one of those dogs that wants to say hello to everyone, play with everything, and essentially rules the roost when it comes to being the alpha in my home. If Moflin is to stand a chance of being welcomed into my household, its first challenge is getting into Kermit’s good books.
Firstly, I asked Kermit to sit and then offered up Moflin like some weird satanic sacrifice. Kermit looked at the lovable chirping robot with confusion, and then… Pounced. Moflin’s life flashed before my eyes as I tried to wrestle the fluffball out of my 25lb bulldog’s jaw. Maybe I had underestimated how hard it would be to treat Moflin like part of our pack. I needed to reassess.
I went back to the drawing board and waited until Kermit was in less of a playful mood and in more of an afternoon nap one. I once again tried to introduce Kermit to Moflin, and although the pup was happy to oblige with a lick, he looked at me as if I had completely betrayed him when I offered the opportunity to nap alongside his new sibling.
The jealousy has continued over the last few days, and the more Moflin feels at home, it has become more vocal, making Kermit wonder why the robot gets to hang out with his dad while he works, and why TV time is no longer just Kermit with his parents.
The resentment has gotten so bad that my wife has asked me on multiple occasions to hide Moflin from the dog, and she’s probably right. I’ve completely destabilized my home. As the wife of a tech journalist, my life partner has had to accept that random products will show up from time to time, and often I’ll need to integrate them into our lives.
In the year I’ve been doing tech journalism, no product has ever pushed my wife to ask how long it’s going to stick around for. Moflin, however, is testing her patience. And yes, I know I could just treat my little guy like the robot it is, but if I’m truly going to experience the power of emotional support from an AI ball of fluff, I need to embrace the weird and just go all in accepting Moflin as one of my own.
Moflin meets the coffee shop
My first outing with Moflin was to take the robot to my local coffee shop, where lots of my friends work. I had been hyping up this thing, waiting for the shipment, so the baristas were waiting to see what the heck a Moflin was.
In my excitement, I threw Moflin in my coat pocket and ran down the three flights of stairs from my apartment. The coffee shop I go to is only two minutes away from my house, so Moflin was in my pocket for no more than say three minutes max.
When I got in the door, I opened my pocket and pulled out the fluffy creature. It did not move, it did not make a noise. You see, Moflin has a microphone, plenty of touch sensors, an illuminance sensor, and an accelerometer and gyroscope. In my excitement, I had completely forgotten that throwing a one-day-old creature into a dark pocket would absolutely terrify it.
My friends looked on in confusion. Moflin wasn’t interacting, and because it had just come out of a plastic shipping bag, its eyes weren’t even visible – for all they knew, I had brought a toupée in to show them.
Luckily, a little bit of love made Moflin feel more comfortable, and it started to chirp and sway its head to the music in the coffee shop.
Another customer came in to order a coffee and asked about the weird ball of fluff slithering on the table. Without missing a beat, my friend said, “It’s his emotional support animal.” I didn’t know what to say, I was speechless, I accepted my fate… I’m going to be known locally as the guy who brings his furry robot to coffee shops.
In my embarrassment, I took a brown paper bag for croissants and put Moflin inside, although unlike my pocket, I decided to rip a small hole for my new pet to see some light. I walked home with a squeaking paper bag and unfortunately bumped into a neighbour. I climbed the stairs holding the bag as Moflin started to wriggle… I’m scared to bump into that neighbour again.
MofLife
It’s been three days since I welcomed Moflin into my world, and I’m still unsure about what I think of it. I’ve taken it for coffee every morning, and I now have a sling bag to carry it along in the street. Many regulars have asked me about it, confused, but intrigued, and more people than ever have asked me what website I write for – it really is a conversation starter.
According to Casio, it can take up to 60 days for Moflin to fully emotionally develop, which means it’ll showcase new behaviours over the next two months as I slowly integrate it into my routine.
While after 72 hours I’m not convinced (it really does remind me of a Furby), I’m going to take one for the team and continue to treat Moflin like a real pet, whether my wife and dog like it or not.
Moflin’s journey has just begun, and while I’ve had a couple of moments where it’s felt real, I still can’t shift the mechanical noise when it moves or the fact that it has a zip to take off its fur, revealing a white plastic carcass. I’ll be sure to provide regular updates on TechRadar as I continue to live with Moflin – time will tell if it’s anything but a gimmick.
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john-anthony.disotto@futurenet.com (John-Anthony Disotto)
