Woof! Woof! Robot dog has a nose for foot odor
JAPAN NEWS / YOMIURI
Hana-chan robot dogs smell feet at the Kitakyushu, Japan, city government office.
KITAKYUSHU, Japan >> Worried about having stinky feet? A robot dog named Hana-chan can sniff them and make the call.
The robot dog, developed by start-up Next Technology, LLC., can check for foot odor.
Next Technology is based at the National Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu College in Kitakyushu.
It aims to market the 6-inch stuffed robot next spring at a price tag of between $890 and $1,800.
Hana-chan has an odor-detection sensor in its nose. The robot reacts in three different ways according to the degree of a detected odor. If the odor is weak, the robot nestles up to you; if the odor is moderate, the robot barks; and if the odor is strong, the robot faints.
Next Technology set the level at which Hana-chan faints using socks that had been worn for two days straight. The company plans to add a deodorant-spraying function to the robot in the future.
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Next Technology President Takashi Takimoto, who is also an associate professor at Kitakyushu College, and others visited the Kitakyushu city government office on Sept. 7 to introduce Hana-chan to Mayor Kenji Kitahashi.
Hana-chan sniffed the mayor’s feet and nestled up to him.
“It’s a great idea for interacting with robots in our daily lives,” Kitahashi said.
