Silverdocs 08 : Meet the Paro (Mechanical Love)

Gina Telaroli June 17, 2008 | 1:38 pm EST

Mechanical Love (directed by Phie Ambo)

I just got out of a fantastic screening of Phie Ambo’s Mechanical Love, a meditation on the connection between technology and humanity and more human relationships with robots. I’ll have a more in depth review up soon but for now meet Paro, one of the stars of the film. Paro is a robot seal that was designed to respond to it’s owner through providing and receiving affection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhqCpekT6DA

They aren’t available in the US yet (they will be post October) but have been wildly popular across Europe and in Japan, especially with senior citizens. I can’t help but think they might do well with busy New Yorkers who want a dog but don’t want the responsibility of a dog owning lifestyle (like me…)

takepart to learn more about the Paro and leave comments about what you think about pet robots.