Finally, A Robot That Will Talk To Your Children So You Don't Have To

You work really hard all day, so when you're finally back at home, all you want to do is kick back with your iPad and play with some apps.

A little Candy Crush and scotch to ease the pain, am I right?

But no.

First some 8-year-old wants you to talk to them.

Then some 3-year-old is trying to give you a hug.

Ugh.

Fortunately, for you, modern parent, there's a new Silicon Valley startup called WittyWorX.

WittyWorX makes a green robot owl called "IXI-Play" that is programmed with a "rich set of sensors and expression capabilities to support the playful interaction" with your children.

"With its lifelike body movement and posture, animated eyes and sounds, IXI-Play is very well suited to express its emotions during game play. Children recognize and enjoy this interaction, making IXI-Play feel like a real buddy for playful interaction."

Translation: make sure there's water in your ice cube trays and your iPad Mini is charged, because you've finally got some quality time ahead of you in your evenings, modern mom or dad.

WittyWorX showed off IXI-Play yesterday, at a very important conference for startups in Silicon Valley called YCombinator Demo Day. All the top venture capitalists attend the event to see what kind of life-improving innovations are coming next. IXI-Play was a favorite.

Here are some of IXI-Play's expressions. Note the one in the second row from the top, second column to the left. This robot will handle the tough love for you.

Here's a video demonstration of IXI-Play. When the dad sits in the easy chair at 41 seconds in, remember to imagine that's you.