Increasingly, real pets are sharing the household with robotic ones ... and considering them threats.

From dogs chasing Roomba robot vacuums to cats sniffing Aibo the robot dog's tail, the intriguing stories are all here, in this story from the WSJ.

The picture shows Ugobe's new robot dinosaur Pleo (left) interacting with a real flesh and blood pet. "That dog really believes it's another animal and, apparently, a frightening animal." Shortly after the picture was taken, Pleo found a new home at the owner's fiancee's mother. who "fell in love with it and treats it like a pet".

Robot pets attracting love? Amazingly common - people name their Roombas and empathise with their struggles with furniture.

See the article for many more great robot/pet stories.

Filed under: roomba, pleo, and pets

Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner, has been around for a long time. We've seen Roombas patiently rolling through our houses, making them spic and span. We've called our Roombas pet names, and mourned them when they've broke.

But what else can you do with a Roomba? Well, you can put a cylon face to it and make it look just like the creature from Battlestar Galactica!

You can also get it to sing, play Pac-Man and much more, at the link.

(Be sure to check out the video at the very end of the linked page to see the full terror of Cylon Roombas).

Filed under: roomba and robot vacuum