Smelly feet is a problem that plague modern day homo sapiens. It is a personal hygiene issue which people prefer not to talk about because, nobody knows how to politely do so and even if you do brave the wrath of the smelly feet person and go point blank about it, what can he or she possibly do? Nothing, but that’s before Hana-chan came along. Developed by Japanese company, Next Technology, Hana-chan is a cute, tiny robotic fido is designed to detect unpleasant odor from a person’s feet. An odor detection sensor, aptly located at the canine’s nose, sniffs out smelly feet.
The dog is capable of detecting a few level of stinks. When it senses moderate stink, it barks, but if the smell is pungent, dear Hana-chan will faint, just so everyone knows how bad whoever’s feet is. I guess a fainting robotic dog is a little less embarrassing than someone tells you right in-the-face that your feet stinks. Picking up unpleasant smell isn’t the only trick up Hana-chan’s sleeves. Apparently, it can spray air freshener to quell the unpleasant odor if the smell gets, you know, a little too overwhelming. Though it is not clear if little doggy here will be put out the air freshener before it keel over or after.
Without a doubt, Hana-chan is mostly applicable to Asian countries where culturally, shoes are removed at the entrance to every home. In most western countries, smelly feet isn’t quite an issue since shoes are worn pretty much throughout the house. Therefore, in the west, smelly feet is a problem that is very much hidden away by the virtue of the culture. And now, for the good news. Next Technology said it plans to peddle the smell-sensitive robot dog early next year, but it is not known if it will be made available outside of Japan. However, with a asking price of around 100,000 Yen (approximately US$895) a pop, its reach will be limited to regions plague for smelly feet issues.
Image: SCMP.
H/T: The Japan Times.
