He feels like a real cat," says Jim McGuckin as I place Alan on his lap.
"I can feel the movements inside." Jim's a resident at Lake Park, a care home for the elderly in the city of Oakland, California.And Alan is the name I've given to a robotic "companion pet", developed by toy maker Hasbro, that I've been looking after and talking to when no-one's around, allegedly.It's the first product in the Joy For All range, an initiative that Hasbro says is about going beyond play and into areas that combat bigger problems. In this case, it's loneliness.
The robocat is designed to mimic a real animal. It miaows, semi-convincingly, and it purrs, very convincingly. It's fluffy and nice to stroke, although the rigidness of Alan's electronic innards spoils any illusion that he is real.