Harry and his bitey brother Charlie may have left YouTube and become an NFT, but CES 2022 is the launchpad for a robot that offers a similar service to Charlie, just without the part that hurts. Meet robotic nibbler Amagami Ham Ham, a robot designed to bite the end of your finger in a cute and reassuring way. It’s the work of Yukai Engineering, the same company responsible for Qoobo, the tailed cushion that made 2021 a cuter and happier time, and Liv Heart Corporation.
There are two characters in the Amagami Ham Ham series, Yuzu the cat and Kotaru the Shiba Inu dog, both based on characters from Liv Heart’s Nemu Nemu series of plush toys. As an FYI, Amagami in Japanese means soft bite, while ham also means bite, but could be considered a cute way of saying so when said twice. Nemu nemu means sleepy, again in a similarly cute fashion. With that quick lesson out of the way, let’s talk about the biting.
Both sit about 8-inches high, so are suitably small and cute looking. Put your finger in Yuzu or Kotaro’s mouth, and it will begin to nibble on it. The robot’s biting action is driven by HAMgorithms (yes, that’s what they’re called here) that generate 24 different methods of biting your finger, including modes called Tasting HAM, Holding Tight HAM, and Massaging HAM. The type of bite used will be random. At this point, you’re probably asking why you would want to do this.
The biting motion is apparently designed to recreate the sensation of having the tip of your finger nibbled by a pet, or a baby. But while human or animal babies eventually abandon the activity, Amagami Ham Ham will always be there to cutely nibble your finger, providing a degree of closeness and reassurance. Whatever you think of any wellbeing benefits that come from having your fingers nibbled, we doubt you’ve seen anything like Amagami Ham Ham before.
Yukai Engineering and Liv Heart Corporation will use crowdfunding to make Amagami Ham Ham a reality, and the campaign is due to go live in spring 2022, but the price has yet to be decided.