From self-driving machines that deliver parcels to anti-anxiety pillows which can'breathe', robots are front and center at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week - as they seek to wheel themselves in every aspect of daily life. CES is an annual tech conference held in Las Vegas. More than 100,000 people are attending this year - the first time the show has been at full capacity since the Covid 19 pandemic. So far this week, Ottonomy has unveiled a'Yeti' with a self-dispensing feature that eliminates the need for a human to be present to collect deliveries. Yukai Engineering, a repeat exhibitor at the event, also showcased a pillow robot that'breathes' when hugged to help reduce the user's anxiety - and it claims to work in just five minutes. Meanwhile, the new chirping Ebo X wants to be a part of the family, providing security and health warnings as well as helping owners speak to loved ones.

Yukai Engineering, the team behind the strangely adorable cat tail pillow, is back with a new quirky invention. Unveiled at CES 2023, the Fufuly is yet another anxiety-reducing cushion from the Japanese company, but this time featuring a gentle rhythmical pulsation as the main therapeutic tool. The idea is that when you're hugging a Fufuly, its life-like behavior stimulates your belly to induce slower and deeper breathing. Despite its thought-bubble shape (supposedly to evoke the image of a puff of air), the cushion felt more like a mellow creature dozing off in my arms. I even mistook the quiet mechanical noise as a cat's purr, to which CEO Shunsuke Aoki assured me this was purely a coincidence.