Toyota’s tiny new robot sits in your cupholder, could make you a better driver

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has joined Japan’s humanoid robot craze. Today at Tokyo Motor Show, the firm showed off Kirobo Mini, an “emotional” robot (hey, doesn’t that sound familiar?) that sits in your car’s cup holder and acts as a driving companion.

The tiny robot weighs 200 grams and is 10 centimeters tall when sitting. It comes with an adorable case, complete with internal seat belt, that acts as a charging dock. The case plugs into a vehicle’s cigarette lighter and has a built-in battery that allows you to take Kirobo Mini on the go.

Aesthetically, it looks almost identical to the full-sized Kirobo – the first robot to hold a conversation in space. Like its big brother, Kirobo Mini’s design comes courtesy of renowned Japanese roboticist Tomotaka Takahashi.

“Takahashi designed the body, but was not involved at all in the development of its functionality,” Fuminori Kataoka, the project manager behind the robot, tells Tech in Asia.

Takahashi was also involved in the development of Sharp’s robotic smartphone, Robohon – and the two look almost identical – but Kataoka explains that Sharp has no involvement whatsoever in Mini Kirobo.

See: Sharp’s batshit crazy new smartphone is… a robot

“Kirobo Mini focuses on feelings and emotions, which are at the core of the Toyota Heart Project,” Kataoka says.

The Toyota Heart Project was announced back in 2013 as an initiative to connect drivers to their vehicles through technological innovations like voice and image recognition to gauge a driver’s mood, long-term data analysis, and augmented reality.

“We want [Mini Kirobo] to act like a passenger,” Kataoka says. “Whenever you’re driving, whether a long distance or just to go to the grocery store, he will be a communication partner.”

Like its humanoid robot contemporaries in Japan, Kirobo Mini only speaks Japanese.

Safer driving