I don’t know about you, but I have always wanted to own a robotic pet. There are already a few pet robots available on the market. The PLEO is certainly cute but not sophisticated enough. The AIBO robot is sophisticated but not cheap. You could always make your own though. Take the Robo-Dog for instance. It is made with piano keys, a toy gun, and a mouse.
Here is what inspired the project:
I decided to build a simple robo-dog using the toy gun of my little nephew Nuran and things I found on the street (and that includes an abandoned piano!). For the mechanism, I was inspired by the Six Legged Walking Robot project, but I modified it in order to walk only with four legs.
You can find M.C. Langer‘s story on Instructables and support the effort if you prefer.
