Intelligent System Co. PARO price & specs

Intelligent System Co. / AIST (Japan) PARO (1)

Intelligent System Co. / AIST (Japan) PARO (2)

Intelligent System Co. / AIST (Japan) PARO (3)

~$2,690 – $3,140 (¥423,500 – ¥495,000, Japan)

AvailableNot programmableTherapy sealFDA Class IIDementia care

Weeks+Shipping: Varies by region.

Remote control: Not possible.

LEARN MORE (PARO Robots U.S.) ↗

Overview

The best-studied therapy robot pet, priced and built for care facilities.

PARO is a robotic baby harp seal developed by Takanori Shibata at Japan's AIST and built under license by Intelligent System Co. in Nanto, Toyama. It brings animal therapy to hospitals and care homes where live animals are impractical, and it is also sold to households in Japan. The eighth generation went on sale in March 2005, and AIST says the current model is the ninth. In 2009 the US FDA cleared it as a Class II biofeedback medical device, and AIST says it is used in about 50 countries.

Five kinds of sensors (touch, light, sound, temperature and posture) tell it when it is stroked, hit or held, and where a voice comes from. It learns its name and repeats behaviors that earn strokes, while avoiding ones that got it hit. It blinks, moves its head and flippers, and plays recorded cries of a real baby harp seal. A day and night rhythm makes it sleepy in the evening. Most of the research behind it comes from care homes and dementia care, including a 2024 randomized trial with 118 people that the maker cites. Outside Japan, its price and its lack of speech suit care facilities best.

Type: Companion robot · Desk & social robots
Maker: Intelligent System Co. / AIST (Japan)
Released: 2005
Price: ~$2,690 – $3,140 (¥423,500 – ¥495,000, Japan)
Status: Available
Best for: Ages 8+
Programming: No programmability

Price and shipping

Intelligent System Co. price list for Japan, tax included, checked October 2026. ~$2,690 (¥423,500) buys PARO with a 1-year warranty. ~$3,140 (¥495,000) adds a 3-year warranty, two checkups with fur cleaning and one battery swap. Outside Japan it is sold by quote through regional distributors such as PARO Robots U.S. A US price of about $6,000 was widely reported around 2009, and no current US price is published.

Shipping: Varies by region. Intelligent System sells directly in Japan, where it is also sold through stores. Other regions buy through the national distributors listed on parorobots.com, such as PARO Robots U.S. for the Americas. Delivery times are not published. PARO distributors ↗

Specifications

Category	Companion robots · Desk & social robots
Released	2005
Country	Japan
Availability	Available
Programmability	No programmability
Built-in autonomy	Reactive · Responds to its surroundings without a map, such as avoiding obstacles or following a person
LLM support	None · No LLM, app or API. It recognizes a few spoken words such as its name, greetings and praise, and answers with seal cries.
Best for	Ages 8+ (maker rating)
Vision sensors	No vision sensors
Actuators	Unknown
Audio	Speaker, Microphone
Compute type	Proprietary / undisclosed
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	57 cm long, about 2.55 kg
Drive	Does not travel. Opens and closes its eyes and moves its head and flippers (actuator count and type not published)
Compute	Not published
Vision	None (a light sensor tells light from dark)
Lidar	None
Sensors	Tactile (body and whiskers), light, sound (voice direction and words), temperature and posture sensors
Runtime	About 5–8 h per full charge. Charges from its AC adapter through a pacifier-shaped plug
Speed	N/A
SDK	None

Common questions

How much does PARO cost?

PARO is listed at ~$2,690 – $3,140 (¥423,500 – ¥495,000, Japan). Intelligent System Co. price list for Japan, tax included, checked October 2026. ~$2,690 (¥423,500) buys PARO with a 1-year warranty. ~$3,140 (¥495,000) adds a 3-year warranty, two checkups with fur cleaning and one battery swap. Outside Japan it is sold by quote through regional distributors such as PARO Robots U.S. A US price of about $6,000 was widely reported around 2009, and no current US price is published.

Can PARO be bought today?

Yes, it is on sale. Intelligent System sells directly in Japan, where it is also sold through stores. Other regions buy through the national distributors listed on parorobots.com, such as PARO Robots U.S. for the Americas. Delivery times are not published.