MyDeskFriend is a robot penguin that talks

Arimaz's MyDeskFriend is a robot penguin that talks
(Credit: Arimaz)

We admit we're suckers for cute robots around here, especially ones that are connected to the Internet in some way (remember the Nabaztag?). So I was especially excited to find that Arimaz's MyDeskFriend is not only a robot that can communicate with your Facebook account, it comes in the form of a tiny robot penguin with an adorable little hat.

Meant as a "social-media companion," the MyDeskFriend penguin can be integrated into your Facebook profile. You can then "feed" or "exercise" the penguin via a Facebook gameplay interface to keep it in a happy mood (it has five different moods, each of which is indicated by the color of the penguin's eyes), and you can let your Facebook friends play with it via the gameplay interface as well. You can also set it so it'll alert you when your friends have logged on, read you your Facebook messages, poke your friends, and more.

Aside from the Facebook integration, it's similar to the Nabaztag in that it can also read out information from RSS feeds, e-mail, stock quotes, weather forecast, Twitter posts, instant messages, calendar appointment alerts, and more.

The MyDeskFriend can actually move around as well. It has infrared sensors that keep it from falling off a desk, and it reacts to physical stimuli like petting and shaking (which will also affect its mood)--take a look at the video below to see how that works.

It'll also memorize around 15 voice commands. Interestingly, Arimaz says MyDeskFriend has an autonomous lifecycle software that lets it develop its own "personality" over time, depending on how you treat it. It's a little like a Tamagotchi in that sense.

Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10275355-1.html