October 9, 2007 3:59 AM PDT
Many of today's tech gadgets aimed at retired people stress the advantage of having the same gadget as a grandchild, as a way of maintaining a connection even over long distances.
Dan Stiehl, a PhD student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab demonstrated how the Huggable bear robot can become an avatar (a representative of your real self) whose movement you control from the Internet. The bear has facial recognition so it can appear to be making eye contact with you. It can also operate autonomously to respond affectionately to the person who snuggles it.
Photo by Candace Lombardi/CNET News.com
