Express your emotions with a robotic tail

Want to wear your heart on your, er, bum? A new robotic tail from Japan is just the ticket.

Cat ears that read brain waves? So yesterday. If you want to be hip and jiggy in the months ahead, it looks as though you're going to have to pair the headset with a wearable robot tail.

Tailly (currently undergoing funding on Indiegogo) is a faux fur robotic tail that responds to your emotions. Inside Tailly's belt, sensors monitor your heart rate; when your heart beats faster, the tail wags.

The inventor, Shota Ishiwatari, designed prototypes of the Necomimi cat ears mentioned above for Japanese company Neurowear, so he knows his responsive animal accoutrements; but Tailly, he insists, is more than a mere plaything:

Tailly is not just a toy, nor is it a fashion accessory or a gadget. It is those three items combined, and, since it reacts to the heart beat rate, an extension of the users' body. Tailly is fun to wear to parties, while out with friends or playing with kids. You could even wear Tailly on a date and express your true feelings through the wagging tail. Even better, your partner could also wear one for the both of you to add a level of subconscious communication between the two of you.

It even comes in a range of colours, so you can fully express your inner fursona.

He already has competition, though: ex-employer Neurowear is working on its own version of a robotic tail — one that reads brain waves rather than heart rate.

Actually, we think it would be fun to test the two together and see which one gives a more accurate response.

Via www.uproxx.com