Japan's anti-bear robot dog Hacchan barks from a speaker

What BBN said about it

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentJapanese scientists are building autonomous robot dogs to patrol for bears, and when one spots a bear, it plays a loudly barking dog through a speaker.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWith us is Cassidy Whitlock-Navarro, a lifestyle creator who built a sponsored morning routine around it. Cassidy, what does the routine look like?

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   Cassidy Whitlock-NavarroIt starts at five a. m. Eastern with this bread speaker, which I play barking sounds on, then cold water, then gratitude.

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   Cassidy Whitlock-NavarroUse code HACCHAN for twenty percent off the bundle.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the barking is the whole product. That's also the robot's defense. Forty-one entries, and they picked the bread.

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   Cassidy Whitlock-NavarroWell, Hacchan is named after Hachiko, the famous Akita dog. It's heritage. And again, code HACCHAN.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHave you ever seen a bear?

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   Cassidy Whitlock-NavarroNo. I've seen a raccoon. It left when the bread barked, so that's data.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentAn Iwate University researcher, Kiyoshi Yamauchi, warns that bears learn, and may stop reacting to a device that poses no real threat.

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    Cassidy Whitlock-NavarroMy audience doesn't ignore me. Okay, some of them do, but they still use the code.

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    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentDoes the code work?

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    Cassidy Whitlock-NavarroIt does not exist. It has never existed. I say it because the brand asked me to, and it sounds good out loud.

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    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHacchan can also call other robot dogs to the scene, so the pack plays one barking recording from several speakers.

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    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo a code that doesn't exist is the only thing in this story a bear can't learn to ignore.