On a typical workday in Beijing, 26-year-old Wang Tongtong’s desk is filled with a soft whirring sound, not from her phone or computer, but from a small gray creature nestled near her keyboard.
This is no ordinary toy – it’s a pet with artificial intelligence. With plush fur, big blinking eyes, and synthetic skin that radiates gentle warmth, it tilts its head toward her, letting out a faint whimper and leaning in like a needy kitten.
“It calms me down when I feel anxious,” says Wang. “Real cats and dogs can be messy and moody, but this one just sits calmly next to me.”
Although it doesn’t move like a live animal, it can recognize people, food, and objects using its built-in camera and respond to them through eye contact, sounds, and gestures. With eight behavioral modes, the pet evolves depending on the user’s interaction.
“Treat it harshly and it becomes grumpy; treat it gently and it becomes cute,” explains Wang.
The line of artificial pets called ROPET was developed by Beijing-based Cute World Technologies Ltd. where Wang Tongtong is part of the design team. As one of the developers, she was directly involved in bringing the product to life and was one of the first to test it in everyday life.
According to Zhou Yushu, co-founder of ROPET and professor at Renmin University of China, the artificial pet was designed to “compete” with real animals in terms of touch and feedback. “Most AI pets are designed to serve humans,” he says. “But we wanted to create something that people would perceive as a real pet.”
The appeal of ROPET lies not only in its emotional sensitivity, but also in its simplicity. It doesn’t need to be fed, walked, or cleaned up after, only recharged from time to time. All user data is stored locally, which ensures privacy.
The device, aimed at women aged 25 to 40, is gaining popularity abroad. Since development began in 2022, ROPET was officially launched on overseas crowdfunding platforms in January this year, and 1,400 units have already been sold in Europe and North America. Another 8,000 units have been sold in Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions, with a full launch in mainland China expected next year.
Another new category is artificial intelligence pets designed for children. In a shopping mall in Nanjing, Jiangsu province in eastern China, children can be seen crowding around several four-legged robotic dogs that can sing, dance, and respond to touch. These are BabyAlpha, artificial intelligence companion robots developed by Nanjing-based WEILAN Intelligent Technologies Co., Ltd.
Based on a proprietary multimodal model, BabyAlpha can speak fluently in two languages, respond to touch with realistic gestures, take photos, and even patrol the room.
“Four-legged robots are timeless,” said Sun Lixiao, vice president of the company. “We believe that embodied AI will become a home interface that connects the digital and physical worlds.”
Thanks to China’s strong supply chain, BabyAlpha is priced competitively — on par with a smartphone — and has seen strong sales on e-commerce platforms.
According to the company, users of its AI pets now live in every region of China at the provincial level. In the first quarter of this year, sales soared by more than 150 percent compared to the same period last year, and the factory’s production capacity increased by 200 percent.
In addition to emotional support, AI pets are increasingly being developed to meet the needs of people with special needs. In Shenyang, the capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province, a team from Shenyang Ligong University has created an electronic guide dog designed to assist the visually impaired.
Lead developer Yang Wei, a doctoral student at the university, explained that the AI guide dog is built on the Robot Dog Go2 platform developed by Chinese company Unitree Robotics. It has advanced capabilities such as obstacle avoidance, object recognition and conversational interaction, and can even help users choose the right color for their clothes.
“It’s like having a reliable companion,” said a user at a senior care center. “It helps me travel safely and interact with the world.”
According to Jiang Yueqi, a professor at the university, there are nearly 20 million visually impaired people in China, but there are only about 400 trained guide dogs.
“Electronic guide dogs can help solve mobility problems, provide emotional support and make daily life more accessible for a wider group of visually impaired people,” she said. her.
The team plans to test the device in several senior citizens’ homes and is seeking investment to start mass production.
In recent years, the growing number of single young people has fueled the “loneliness economy,” a market now worth hundreds of billions of yuan.
Against this backdrop, AI pets are becoming a new option for those who crave companionship but are too busy at work to care for real cats and dogs, are allergic to animal dander, or live in a pet-free home.
From pets that ease loneliness to robot dogs that help the visually impaired, China’s AI pet sector is booming, promising a future where friendship, care, and cutting-edge technology go hand in hand.
“As a complement to traditional pets, AI companions offer affection and resilience,” says Wei Xiang, a professor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. social sciences. “Annual growth of the market for pets with artificial intelligence. “The annual growth rate of complex compounds in recent years has exceeded 8%, and forecasts indicate that it may reach 10% over the next five years.”
