If you haven't heard, robots are having a moment in China. From their dancing antics at the Spring Festival television gala to the recent robot half-marathon in Beijing, the clankers are here, and they aren't going away.
And now you can play with (and buy) your very own in Changning. Earlier this month, the company VBot opened its inaugural flagship store in Raffles City mall, allowing customers to play with Da Tou, their AI-equipped, talking, listening, paw-shaking fur baby. Dressed up in a cowboy hat and bandana, it can tell you the weather in English and Chinese. It can carry your groceries. It can scurry unexpectedly fast at your shins. It costs 13,000 RMB, the battery only lasts for five hours, but at least the required app subscription is free.
According to the salespeople, the robot dog is primarily aimed at children and the elderly, as a companion and personal helper. On a sunny weekend day on the fake grass lawn outside the mall, children absolutely loved the thing, pulling it back and forth and yelling instructions for it to jump and perform other tricks into its ears. However, the many real dogs in attendance, likely Luddites, were far more skittish.
As an experience, it is worth checking out, especially for families with children, or for those wanting some "living-in-the-future" photos for social media. The store staff is more than happy to let people play with the robot on their own outside the mall. Is it worth 13,000 RMB? Well, you don't have to buy dog food.
How to get there: The Vbot store is located on Level 1 of the Raffles City Mall in Changning, next to the north entrance. Store staff are also often exhibiting the dog outside the mall. Exit 3 of Zhongshan Park subway station goes directly into the mall.
