Skip to main content

Qoobo the robotic cat tail could be the pet you’ve always wanted

Robotic cat tail Qoobo now available for pre-order on Kickstarter for $89

Who needs a head when you have a tail? And not just any tail — a cat tail. If ever you’re in need of something soft to hold and squeeze (in hopes that you’re squeezing all your troubles away), we present you the Qoobo. It’s a product that is every bit as weird as its name. Described most simply as a headless (but tail-full) robotic cat, you may not think that a decapitated stuffed animal could do you much good, but you could be wrong.

The bizarre device comes from the wackily creative minds of Yukai Engineering Co., a Tokyo-based electronics company. It’s two pounds of fluff that features neither limbs nor a face, but even without those key features, may be enough to satisfy your need for fluff. Like a real cat, it will respond to your touch, but unlike a real cat, it will only vibrate or wag its tail. Come to think of it, if real cats only had those two reactions, things wouldn’t be so bad either.

Recommended Videos

One “uses” the Qoobo by placing it in your lap, where it will stay for as long as you like (again, unlike a real cat). Apparently, it is meant to behave something like a therapy animal, and the company wanted to emulate the “healing qualities” of a cuddly animal sitting on your lap and wagging its tail.

“In development, we stuck to the good feeling of weight. … In addition, we have studied the actual tail and developed mechanisms and programs to reproduce the movement,” the company said in a statement.

Qoobo comes in two colors, husky gray or French brown, and measures around a foot in diameter. And now, after much anticipation, the stuffed kitty butt is now available for pre-order on Kickstarter. Despite launching less than a week ago, the Qoobo has already raised nearly the entirety of its $44,000 goal, a real testament to the success of weirdness. If you’re interested in checking out one of these allegedly therapeutic robotic tails, you can pre-order a Qoobo yourself for the early bird price of $89. Delivery is expected for September 2018, though, so you’ll still have to wait awhile to cuddle up to this non-cat.

Update: Qoobo is now available on Kickstarter. 

Lulu Chang
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
This PC’s open-air chassis is unlike anything you’ve ever seen
Open frame PC case by Nagao with a monitor mounted on it.

If you're a fan of unusual PC builds, you might like this fresh release from Nagao Seisakusho, a Japanese open-frame chassis specialist. Instead of locking all of the components inside the chassis, Nagao sets them free -- and this time around, the company spiced up the build with an unexpected detail.

Nagao has just unveiled a monitor mounting bracket that goes with its open-air chassis, allowing customers to build a fully portable all-in-one PC by themselves.

Read more
How often should you use your robot mop
irobot roomba spraying water on wood floor with vacuum Roomba in dock behind it.

Like vacuuming your home, mopping is a task that you can automate to free up time. Smart mops are becoming more readily available (along with combination robot cleaners) from some of the same biggest names in the business. There are some things for you to know about running your smart robot mop in your home.

When you first buy your smart mop, you'll probably want to run it all the time to clean any and all messes. Unfortunately, they aren't made for that. Smart robot mops are made to clean up slight dust and dirt as well as spills that aren't super tough. You will still have to manually mop up some messes if they become caked over or combined with other debris.

Read more
This LG robot could soon be serving your restaurant meal
LG's CLOi ServeBot robot.

When LG’s CLOi robot first came on the scene in 2018, it didn’t get off to the best of starts.

On stage at CES with former LG marketing chief David VanderWaal, CLOi clammed up at the worst possible moment, leaving VanderWaal to conclude that “CLOi doesn’t like me.”

Read more