Nothing beats interacting with your own pet, but that doesn't stop companies from trying to recreate it in robotic form. The latest is Koda's AI-powered robot dog.

While it may not look much like a real dog, this robot is designed to interact socially with its owner. Like a real dog, it can also sense its owner's feelings. The price, though, is about $45,000.

Koda can perform tasks using a "blockchain-enabled decentralized AI infrastructure." Sounds like someone tried to cram every buzzword they could think of into one sentence, which apparently means that Koda can solve complex problems and learn new skills.

The decentralized nature of the blockchain should also, in theory, help keep user data private and make Koda's database harder to hack.

In the presentation video, Koda promises to be able to do everything expected of a dog, including serving as a family companion, guide dog, and guard dog. It also promises to function as a "powerful supercomputer capable of solving complex problems."

Given how outlandish this last claim sounds, we checked our calendars to see if April 1 had snuck up on us. Then again, this thing costs $45,000, so who knows what hardware might be lurking beneath its shiny gray shell.

The dog has 3D depth cameras on the front and sides of its body, and a 13MP camera that takes high-quality photos. It also has a high-resolution display, an array of sensors including four "paw force sensors," a touch-sensitive head, and left and right speakers. Koda is also said to be able to recognize voiceprints with 97% accuracy. It also emits a voice that sounds like "Wall-E" due to its appearance.

While it might be easy to dismiss Koda, especially because of its high price tag, the idea of a robotic companion is quite sound. We live in an age where people do not see each other very often. Having a robot companion could be a way to overcome loneliness. Plus, you don't have to worry about getting peed on the couch.