This robotic bear is almost like a hospital version of Wall-E: adorable, simple, and huggable. Researchers at MIT Media Lab have developed a robot encased in a fuzzy blue teddy bear outfit, that talks to sick children in the hospital, playing games and cheering them up.

Most children who are sick with chronic diseases have to be in the hospital for days at a time, missing school, time with friends, and other normal childhood activities. So researchers wanted to find a way to alleviate some of that stress by providing them with a funny, lighthearted form of therapy in the shape of Huggable.

In several videos of experiments with children, Huggable is shown sitting in the patient’s hospital room, facing the child. He starts out saying hello and playing “I Spy” with the kid, and warms them up with smiles and laughter. Huggable is really controlled by a nurse in a different room, who is able to hear the child’s voice and respond accordingly.

According to MIT Media Lab’s website, Huggable “is featured with a full body sensitive skin with over 1500 sensors, quiet back-drivable actuators, video cameras in the eyes, microphones in the ears, an inertial measurement unit, a speaker, and an embedded PC with 802.11g wireless networking.” Currently, a pilot study underway at Boston Children’s Hospital has been testing out his therapeutic effects on children — and surprisingly, the responses have been positive.

To smile some more as the cuteness of Huggable, watch the video of him interacting with another child with leukemia.