Meet baby Yotaro. He cries, giggles, kicks when you tickle him, sneezes and his nose runs. And he’s a robot. In Japan, project leader Hiroki Kunimura and his team created Yotaro, feeling that “a robot can’t be human but it’s great if this robot triggers human emotions, so humans want to have their own baby.” Japan is struggling with a low birth rate and although Yotaro wasn’t initially created to remedy that, many feel that this glowing ersatz baby will trigger couples to want to have kids.

Yotaro’s emotions are pre-set in a computer program; his warm temperature is created by water-warmed silicone, while his dripping nose is just a slow-drip water hose.

Will this robot help couples start their own families? That remains to be seen, but I can guarantee you anyone who has a baby because of the way they felt when holding Yotaro will be in for a big surprise when the real baby arrives and doesn’t sleep through the night or has a leaky diaper as you’re getting ready to leave the house.