Video: Microsoft developer builds robot to entertain family dog

A Microsoft test developer had a big enough heart to open his home to a four-legged friend, and didn’t have the heart to leave him alone all day.

What do you do when you have an eight hour a day or longer job, and you don’t have the fortune of being able to bring your pup to work?

Jordan Correa works on robotics at Microsoft, and his wife has a full time job too, forcing them to leave their dog, Darwin alone during the day. So they’ve introduced a character reminiscent of Batteries Not Included or WALL-E into their home.

“Primarily, I wanted to build something that would entertain Darwin, but I also thought it would be fun to create something that would allow me to check on him from work,” Correa said in a blog post on the Microsoft website.

The robot has audio output and input, so that Correa can talk to his dog through Skype and hear how is dog reacts. The robot also dispenses treats and plays fetch.

Correa said that he is still trying to figure out how he can get the robot to walk his dog.