A polite talking ted

You may remember Paro, the therapeutic seal robot that has been successful enough to be used by therapists to help dementia patients with stress. Well now NTT DoCoMo has now collaborated with toy firm Iwaya, electronics maker Vitec and communication doll producer Mooredoll to bring to life Cocokuma, a similar stuffed animal designed to not only help relieve loneliness in the elderly, but also to help them stay in touch with family.

Cocokuma looks like an ordinary teddy bear, but it blinks, raises eyebrows and talks. Though it can be a companion of sorts — it has a sensor that detects when people are nearby before greeting them with the day's weather and other information — its primary use is to pass on voice-recorded messages from other members of the family.