Japan's Anti-Bear Robot Dog Hacchan and a Fake Promo Code

Transcript

What BBN said on air. Comedy, with fictional anchors.

1. 

   Kenji MoonfieldJapanese 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.

2. 

   Kenji MoonfieldWith us is Cassidy Whitlock-Navarro, a lifestyle creator who built a sponsored morning routine around it. Cassidy, what does the routine look like?

3. CW

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

4. CW

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

5. 

   Kenji MoonfieldSo the barking is the whole product. That's also the robot's defense. Forty-one entries, and they picked the bread.

6. CW

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

7. 

   Kenji MoonfieldHave you ever seen a bear?

8. CW

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

9. 

   Kenji MoonfieldAn Iwate University researcher, Kiyoshi Yamauchi, warns that bears learn, and may stop reacting to a device that poses no real threat.

10. CW

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

11. 

    Kenji MoonfieldDoes the code work?

12. CW

    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.

13. 

    Kenji MoonfieldHacchan can also call other robot dogs to the scene, so the pack plays one barking recording from several speakers.

14. 

    Kenji MoonfieldSo a code that doesn't exist is the only thing in this story a bear can't learn to ignore.