New cyber pet for home companionship aims to strengthen family bonds

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Chinese brand OLLOBOT introduced a new type of emotionally supportive robot designed as a cyber-pet for home companionship. Unlike traditional humanoid robots, OLLOBOT focuses on creating warm, humorous, and emotionally engaging interactions to strengthen family bonds. The robot adapts easily to users through an embodied intelligence system powered by a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model, which processes multimodal inputs—such as sight, sound, and touch—in real time. This allows the cyber-pet to perceive user moods, activities, and environmental factors, enabling proactive assistance like reminders and personalized interactions. OLLOBOT aims to bridge the gap between technology and family life by encouraging intentional interaction, especially among children who might otherwise be absorbed by screens. It communicates in a unique “pet language” that sparks curiosity and prompts parent-child conversations. The robot also functions as a digital assistant, offering timely reminders to help maintain family connections. Privacy is a key feature, with all