1857. Paro the Dementia Friendly Seal

A terrible day weather-wise with rain all day and my planned trip to Dundee to see the V&A Robot exhibition was a bit shorter than I had planned but I got there...didn't get great photos but still thoroughly enjoyed my half day spent there.
This is Paro who is a robotic seal and I got up close and personal with him rather than just looking at him sitting in his display case.  The lass at the museum got him out for me to see and touch and he was delightful.  They have been in use in Japan for many years and they chose a seal as people would not have any previous connection with a seal in the same way that they would with a cat or a dog.  Paro reacts to human voices with "seal" type noises and looks in the direction of the speaker.  He also moves his eyes and flippers.  His charger in in the form of a dummy so he looks like he's sleeping when he's being charged.  The exhibition was wonderful with so many interesting exhibits and it was very quiet so I had the chance to see so much more of all of the exhibits.