---
title: "This Cartoonish New Robot Dog Somehow Looks Even Scarier"
description: "Chinese robotics company called Weilan recently showed off a creepy, cartoonish-looking robot dog called \"BabyAlpha.\""
date: "2023-12-08"
modified: "2023-12-08"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-dog-looks-even-scarier"
categories:
  - "Robot Dogs"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "robodog"
  - "robotics"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Cartoonish New Robot Dog Somehow Looks Even Scarier

![Chinese robotics company called Weilan recently showed off a creepy, cartoonish-looking robot dog called "BabyAlpha."](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/robot-dog-looks-even-scarier.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Weilan\</em\>*

## Dog Days

We've come across plenty of robot dogs over the years that can [dance](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-boston-dynamics-robots-busting-impressive-dance-moves>), [speak using ChatGPT](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-boston-dynamics-robot-dog>), or even [assist doctors](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hospitals-ipads-robot-dogs-doctors>) in hospitals.

But they all have one thing in common: they look like lifeless machines on four stilts.

In an apparent effort to put the "dog " back into "robodog," a Chinese robotics company called Weilan recently showed off an entirely new class of robotic quadruped called "BabyAlpha" — essentially half cartoon dog and half robot.

The company may have overshot its goal a little bit, though, ending up with an even more terrifying-looking machine that looks like it belongs in a "M3GAN"-esque horror flick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o04Sn3uhaDw

## Robot's Best Friend

The small robot canine has a spotted head, a cute little nose, and two floppy-looking ears.

According to the [company's website](<https://www.weilan.com/html/product/BabyAlpha/>), which we crudely translated using Google, the robot is "especially designed for family companionship scenarios."

"BabyAlpha likes to be by your side," the website reads adding that the little robot has "endless technological superpowers" thanks to AI. Not creepy at all!

Weilan is also targeting its pet as a way to teach children either English or Chinese or keep track of younger family members through a video call tool.

But we can't shake the feeling that BabyAlpha is exactly the kind of thing that kickstarts a series of unfortunate events in a shlocky horror movie.

In case you *do* trust your children to be around a BabyAlpha, the companion will cost the equivalent of around $1,700 when it goes on sale.

**More on robot dogs:** *[Oh Great, They Put ChatGPT Into a Boston Dynamics Robot Dog](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-boston-dynamics-robot-dog>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)