Japanese company creating a robot companion for your desk – CNET

by Hallie Siegel

11 December 2015

share this:

Demonstrated at this year’s International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, the MJI (More Joyful Innovation) Communication Robot is an egg-shaped desktop device that communicates through a 5-inch screen. The screen shows the companion’s emotive eyes as a default, but also serves as a display for photos, weather, news and other information. Set for a release of early 2016, the MJI Robot also has built-in telephone functionality.

The size of the robot is roughly that of an electric tea-kettle, and comes in at a weight of 3kg (6.5 lbs). It has Wi-Fi and 4LTE connectivity and is kitted out with cameras for motion-tracking, facial recognition and surveillance.

The MJI is being geared towards the elderly and those that require a simple communication interface with their technology. Thanks to voice activation and communication, the table-top buddy can send and receive messages and phone calls without requiring any manual input.

Hallie Siegel’s insight:
Looks familiar! Could be competition for Jibo.

See it on Scoop.it, via Robotics

Hallie Siegel robotics editor-at-large

AUAI is supported by:

AI agents create virtual playgrounds to help robots get crucial training data

MIT News 07 Aug 2026

“SceneSmith” system uses collaborative AI agents to create realistic 3D environments of places like kitchens, hotels, and living rooms, where robots can simulate everyday chores.

Robots in society, business and culture: July 2026

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) 06 Aug 2026

A round up of robotics stories in a new monthly series from IEEE RAS.

Simulated zebrafish and a vision-equipped robotic fish reveal how the body shapes brain circuits

Xiangxiao Liu, Eva Aimable Naumann and Auke Ijspeert 03 Aug 2026

Researchers look to the fish brain to create a robotic zebrafish that can autonomously swim upstream.

Researchers develop modular nanorobot

University of Basel 31 Jul 2026

A team at the University of Basel has developed a versatile nanorobot with propulsion and payload modules.

Surviving the paper deluge: a one-year study in learning from demonstration

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) 29 Jul 2026

With the explosion of robotics research, staying current in fields like Learning from Demonstration is a monumental challenge.

Soft robotic heart offers new way to study disease and test life-saving devices

University of New South Wales 28 Jul 2026

Researchers have developed a soft robotic model of the human heart that can mimic disease and provide a realistic environment for testing the next generation of cardiac devices.