The world’s first interactive virtual and real world social robot won the first prize in an international innovation competition in Milan, Italy, in April – http://www.innovationcircus.it/2009/

Petimo won the first prize in the ICT (information and communication technologies) track The competition is sponsored by the Municipality of Milan and the Chamber of Commerce, and is co-organized by a service company (Alintec) together with “Nova-Sole 24 ore”, (Italian financial times). The main sponsor of the competition is 3M.

Petimo is aimed at children from seven years old and enables them to experience a safe and fun online social environment. Parents can feel safe and comfortable with their children using social networks because the friend making must be made only in the physical world through the children’s robot.

An experience like no other, the robotic toy, named “Petimo”, responds to touch and movement. Its outer finish is an adorable plush toy and its small, round physical shape evokes a warm and tender feeling likened to carrying a baby animal.

Petimo has already been selected by an international review panel as one of the best three submissions for the Como for Children (C4C) design competition held at The 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC 2009) during its debut in Europe.  

Petimo comes complete with a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world that features social networking capabilities as well. Dubbed as “Petimo-World”, this is designed based on the Japanese popular kawaii (which means cute) culture.

The virtual characters in Petimo-World are linked to the physical attributes of the robotic toy, resembling virtual characters interacting with each other accordingly. Parents can also supervise their children’s online behavior in a friendly and secure manner through its parental authentication module which enhances not only children’s online security but also the relationship between children and parents.

Special considerations also ensure that the physical properties and robotic interactions are well-suited to children. For instance, Petimo has the enhanced capability to detect another robot placed together in a given proximity. This physical meet between two Petimos is a first that proves to be an even safer way for children to meet friends virtually, and also lends a virtual world feel to a child’s social networking experience.

Other features, such as a squeeze, can generate various emotions and gifts in audible and visual expressions as well. A specially-designed interface presents shapes and sizes that are appealing, simple and easy to use. The emotions and virtual gift transactions are also designed for a child’s easy understanding. Petimo, together with Petimo-World, can also be a mediator in cultivating positive social behavior and better familiarization to computing environments among young growing minds.