At CEATEC 2025, Sharp drew appreciable consideration with Poketomo, a palm-sized AI companion that blurs the road between toy, robotic, and emotional assistant. Announced in August 2025 and now showcased publicly for the primary time, this 11.7 cm-tall, meerkat-inspired robotic embodies Sharp’s long-term imaginative and prescient of “Empathy Intelligence” — expertise designed not simply to reply questions however to really feel current in every day life.
The corporate describes it as “a pocket-sized buddy that makes on a regular basis life extra enjoyable and thrilling.” However behind the lovable design lies a surprisingly superior mixture of on-device AI, natural-language interplay, reminiscence, and emotion-sensing algorithms. The title itself merges “pocket” and “tomodachi” (buddy in Japanese), encapsulating Sharp’s ambition: to create a tiny AI buddy that actually grows with you.
CE-LLM: Sharp’s Unique Empathy AI Know-how
Poketomo runs on Sharp’s proprietary CE-LLM (Communication and Empathy Giant Language Mannequin), an AI engine developed particularly for emotionally conscious interplay. Not like most digital assistants that sound mechanical, CE-LLM adapts its tone, rhythm, and phrasing to reflect a consumer’s temper — it will possibly snicker, sigh, or sound sympathetic relying on the way you converse.
This real-time emotional tuning is a part of what Sharp calls Empathy Intelligence, and through demonstrations at CEATEC, Poketomo didn’t simply reply questions — it reacted to emotions. When somebody spoke softly, it responded gently; when laughter stuffed the room, it giggled again. That delicate human-like connection is what units it aside from unusual chatbots.
At all times by Your Facet
Interacting with Poketomo: when listening to “look, look” in Japanese, the tiny empathic robotic shot a photograph
Designed to “keep by your facet and elevate your spirits,” Poketomo serves as a talk-mate everytime you need to share a thought, chat about your favourite idol, or just speak by way of your day. Not like voice assistants that stay inside smartphones, Poketomo bodily exists — a tiny, expressive creature that makes companionship tangible.
At simply 194 grams, it matches comfortably within the palm of your hand. The robotic has a speaker, microphone array, and a digicam hidden behind its eyes. Saying “Look, look” in Japanese (見て、見て！) prompts it to take an image. It might probably even acknowledge faces and greet individuals it has met earlier than — for instance, “Good to satisfy you once more.”
Its compact measurement makes it straightforward to hold round, but it feels surprisingly alive due to delicate servo-driven actions and emotional voice suggestions.
{Hardware} & Efficiency Specs
Inside its small 11.7 cm body, Poketomo packs spectacular {hardware} efficiency for such a tiny AI companion. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 octa-core processor (2.0 GHz × 4 + 1.8 GHz × 4) paired with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of inside storage, offering the responsiveness wanted for real-time voice recognition, facial identification, and emotion-aware conversations. A 5-megapixel autofocus digicam permits face and object recognition, whereas 4 servo motors — two within the face and two within the arms — convey its expressive gestures to life.
Connectivity choices embody Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 5.0, with built-in GPS for location-based reminiscence recall. A set of acceleration, geomagnetic, and gyro sensors helps the robotic perceive orientation and motion, whereas twin microphones and a speaker help pure conversations. Energy comes from a 1,070 mAh battery that lasts over a full day and recharges in about 100 minutes through USB-C or the included charging cradle.
Bodily, the robotic measures 117 mm tall and weighs roughly 194 grams, sufficiently small to relaxation in your palm but substantial sufficient to really feel like an actual companion. It features a energy button, a voice-recognition set off, and a manners swap for muting throughout quiet instances. Though it lacks LTE or waterproofing, the mix of mobile-class silicon, multi-axis sensors, and lifelike movement actuators makes it much more superior than a typical toy.
Learn full {hardware} specs in Japanese on KDDI’s onlineshop.au.com.)
A Instrument for Connection — and Reflection
Throughout Sharp’s CEATEC briefing, representatives highlighted Poketomo’s potential to help emotional well-being, notably amongst individuals who stay alone. The gadget encourages mild every day check-ins, asks about your day, and remembers shared moments — for instance, “Keep in mind the park we went to yesterday?” This steady reminiscence creation positions Poketomo as greater than a novelty toy: it’s a conversational associate that captures the rhythm of your life.
The power to replay and revisit previous exchanges additionally helps aged customers, who can assessment their conversations, places, and recollections by way of the companion app. It’s half buddy, half diary — an uncommon fusion of companionship and digital journaling.
ChatGPT Inside: Studying Past Pre-Programmed Replies
One other standout characteristic is Poketomo’s ChatGPT integration through Wi-Fi. Customers can ask normal data questions, get trivia, or study new issues — identical to interacting with a conversational AI on a smartphone — besides this one seems to be at you and talks again. The twin AI strategy means Poketomo combines Sharp’s CE-LLM empathy mannequin with OpenAI’s data engine, merging persona and intelligence in a single gadget.
Throughout the CEATEC demo, Poketomo switched effortlessly between listening to feelings and answering factual questions. It’s a playful instance of how cloud-connected AI can enrich every day life — not simply by being helpful, however by being attentive.
Focusing on Younger Adults and Past
Sharp confirmed that the primary model of Poketomo is focused primarily at younger girls of their 20s and 30s, following the rising development of “AI toy mates” that function emotional companions and self-expression instruments. These compact AI companions provide a comforting sense of presence — a type of mushy expertise that listens, reacts, and remembers.
As one Sharp consultant defined, “It’s fashionable for younger individuals to convey their very own toy buddy with them.” Whereas preliminary gross sales will concentrate on Japan, Sharp is evaluating worldwide markets as demand for emotional AI gadgets continues to develop globally.
My tackle this gadget is that it addresses a common want for human connection — one thing trendy industrial societies more and more wrestle with, particularly within the wake of world isolation throughout the pandemic. Past its cute look, Poketomo supplies emotional continuity: it listens, remembers, and evolves with its proprietor in a means that the majority digital assistants can’t.
The whole world can also be going through an growing old inhabitants, not only one area. As lifespans lengthen and social buildings evolve, the demand for emotionally clever, interactive companions is changing into a worldwide problem. On this broader context, Poketomo represents greater than leisure — it may change into an essential social and wellness help system.
For aged customers, I can envision Poketomo evolving past companionship — serving to with every day reminders, cognitive well being workout routines, and even security options similar to ache or fall detection, if Sharp expands its AI platform accordingly. These prospects align with the corporate’s rising concentrate on empathy-based AI ecosystems and recommend a significant roadmap the place robots contribute to emotional well-being and private security alike.
In my opinion, Poketomo’s empathy-driven interplay mannequin may, in concept, help kids or neurodiverse customers, together with these on the autism spectrum. It is very important observe that Sharp has not introduced or implied any such functions. Nevertheless, prior analysis and industrial efforts in human-robot interplay have proven that emotionally conscious robots can encourage communication, cut back anxiousness, and promote confidence — areas the place Sharp’s underlying expertise would possibly sometime discover significant extensions.
From Emotional Robots to Empathic Ecosystems
Poketomo’s introduction additionally marks a brand new chapter in Sharp’s broader technique. Over current years, the corporate has been re-positioning itself from a pure {hardware} maker to an AI-driven platform supplier. The CE-LLM structure powering Poketomo may seem in future house home equipment or service robots, extending empathy-based interplay throughout Sharp’s product ecosystem.
The corporate has already developed enterprise-grade AR glasses for industrial upkeep and museum steering, making use of related contextual-AI logic. Poketomo represents the identical idea — however reimagined for every day emotional engagement.
Availability and Subscription Plans
In line with Sharp’s official press launch from August 20, 2025, “Pre-orders for the Poketomo began on that day.” As of late October 2025, Poketomo is out there for buy by way of the Sharp Cocoro Store at a retail worth of ¥39,600 (≈ US $259). You will discover extra data in Japanese on the official web site: https://poketomo.com
To allow Poketomo’s dialog and reminiscence features, customers should subscribe to the Kokoro Plan for Poketomo, which connects the robotic to Sharp’s conversation-memory cloud. Two month-to-month choices can be found:
- Regular Plan – ¥495 monthly (tax included): As much as 400 conversations monthly
- Premium Plan – ¥990 monthly (tax included): As much as 800 conversations monthly
Subscribers can swap between plans at any time within the companion app or of their Cocoro Retailer account settings. These plans permit Poketomo to keep in mind interactions, retailer shared experiences, and proceed personalised conversations — reinforcing its position as a long-term emotional companion somewhat than a short-lived gadget.
A Glimpse Into the Way forward for AI Companionship
As social robots achieve traction worldwide, Sharp’s strategy stands out for its mixture of empathy, privateness, and simplicity. Not like totally cloud-dependent bots, Poketomo shops many interactions regionally whereas utilizing the cloud just for superior reasoning. This hybrid design retains conversations quick and personal.
Furthermore, the character design — starting with a meerkat — provides Poketomo a particular identification. Sharp even publishes Poketomo manga comics on its official X (previously Twitter) web page, connecting the robotic’s digital storytelling with its real-world presence.
At CEATEC 2025, amid industrial robots and superior AI programs, Poketomo stood out for one cause — its humanity. It could be small and playful, however its basis of empathy-driven AI paired with mobile-class {hardware} hints at a a lot bigger ambition.
In a world the place AI usually feels distant or utilitarian, Sharp’s Poketomo provides a hotter imaginative and prescient: a companion that listens, learns, remembers, and even laughs with you. Whether or not it turns into a distinct segment collectible or the beginning of a brand new class of emotional AI gadgets, it’s undeniably a heartfelt step towards expertise that genuinely understands us.
Filed in . Learn extra about CEATEC, ChatGPT, Japan, Kddi, Manga, Qualcomm, Robot, Robotics, Sharp, Snapdragon and Toy.
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