Scientists Develop Robotic Pet Butler that can feed and play with Animals when owners are not home
For pet owners who worry about leaving their animals home alone all day, a new robotic companion promises to offer comfort, entertainment, and even emotional insight. Called Aura, the unusual device is being marketed as a robotic “pet butler” built to keep cats and dogs engaged while their humans are away.
Aura was developed by AI service provider Tuya and was recently unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The three-wheeled robot can move freely around the house, filming pets, interacting with them, and even dispensing treats. With a digital face that displays animated eyes and a constant smile, Aura is designed to look friendly and approachable rather than mechanical.
According to Tuya, Aura goes beyond the typical pet camera or automated feeder. The company claims the robot can address pets’ “deeper emotional needs” using what it calls an “emotional translator” for animals. The system supposedly allows Aura to “accurately interpret a pet’s emotional state” by analyzing behavior and sounds. Based on that data, owners receive automatic updates on their phones, telling them whether their pet is happy, anxious, excited, or sad.
The robot is also designed to act as a kind of roaming photographer. Aura can track pets’ movements, detect playful moments, naps, or bursts of energy, and then decide when to take photos or short videos. Tuya says Aura can autonomously generate clips to “reserve precious memories and strengthen emotional bonds” between pets and their owners.
Physically, Aura looks like a tablet mounted on a small rolling base, with a hollow body that, according to Tuya, is intentionally designed so cats can climb inside and ride along. The robot uses two cameras for depth perception, allowing it to navigate around furniture, avoid obstacles, and return to its charging dock when the battery runs low.
It also comes with a selection of built-in entertainment tools, including a laser pointer, a treat dispenser, and “simulated pet sounds.” While many pet gadgets already exist, Tuya argues that most products fail to reduce loneliness. Aura, they claim, is built to be a more “responsive and warm” presence in the home.
Not everyone will be thrilled by the idea. Tuya openly notes that Aura “moves freely throughout the home, proactively seeking out pets to interact with them,” which may be unsettling for more nervous animals.
Tuya has not yet announced a price or release date, but the company suggests Aura is just the beginning. It says the technology could eventually support broader applications such as “elder care, home monitoring, and family connectivity” across “diverse hardware forms.”
Aura was not the only robotic companion at CES. Startup FrontierX introduced its own device, Vex, a smaller robot that follows pets and records video. But unlike Aura, Vex focuses on filming rather than emotional interaction, making Tuya’s creation the more ambitious, and arguably more bizarre, of the two.
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