UBTECH, a company known for its industrial humanoids, is now selling friends. Its new U1 series are hyper-realistic “emotional companions” with a staggering 88 degrees of freedom, aimed at your living room, not the factory floor. With over 2,100 pre-orders already placed, it seems the uncanny valley is the hot new place to cure loneliness, provided your companion doesn’t need to climb stairs or stay powered on for more than a few hours.
