Remember Pleo that Judie and her kitty played with a while back?  Well it appears to be coming out of extinction and is now for sale at the Pleoworld web site!  So if you did not get a chance to order your own life-like dinosaur, then now is your chance!  He’s currently $349.  Continue Reading

Hoya Robot, A South Korean company, is developing a robot that one day might just help save the lives of both victims and firefighters.  The Firefighter’s Assistant Robot can enter burning building and size up the scene as well as check for victims who may be trapped inside.

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The concept of conciousness and awareness has always fascinated me. It was what drew me to science fiction as a kid, and to philosophy as I got older. One of the tropes of science fiction is artificial intelligence, the idea that a computer robot can become sentient and move beyond the limits of its programming.

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Here’s an interesting twist on the boring old web camera. Just like 8 bazillion other web cams this will provide video through an Internet connection. And (yawn) it does so via Wi-Fi. But here’s where things get interesting. This version goes mobile and provides images via 802.11b/g while simultaneously performing 360 degree turns. For a projected cost of only $169 this gizmo’s worth a look. I’m not sure how much or how precisely you can steer – though the literature mentions 360 degree turns. Continue Reading

Oh to be one of those geeks who can effortlessly start up a remote control helicopter and make it fly, but alas. When I play with those type toys I am the one who will almost always immediately crash and burn…assuming I can even get lift off. It’s okay, though; I have found a flying toy which I can operate, and that doesn’t come complete with the same frustration I’ve discovered in others of the type: the WowWee Flytech Bladestar. Built for those who are eight years old and up, it’s even fun for those of us who have hit the big 4-0 (plus one).

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Robert Oschler, the sovereign of all things robotic has just sent his latest email featuring what will likely be one of the holiday’s hottest toys: Elmo Live.

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Robert’s at it again; today he has information on Mr. Personality, WowWee’s new omni-directional entertainment robot. Why might you want one? Read on…

Hello Judie,

Reminiscent of one of the robots at the robot carnival in the movie A.I., Mr. Personality is a unique interactive robot companion that talks up a storm. He’s a natural joke teller, a fortune teller, and will even give you whimsical answers about your future. Instead of a featureless face Mr. Personality has an animated face which is displayed via a head mounted full color LCD.

Features

* Can move in all directions using a unique three wheeled mobile base
* Tells stories, jokes, and fortunes and will talk to you too
* Full color head mounted LCD screen display an animated face with synchronized facial expressions and sounds
* Has several distinct play modes including: Bits, Crystal Ball, Fortune Cookies, Demo and others.
* Detects and avoids obstacles and will let you know if he has fallen over or if his batteries are getting low on juice

Official WowWee YouTube video:

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Being a kid these days is getting way too cool; not only can you cuddle with a robotic pet lion, you can even own a mountable baby dinosaur! Granted, Kota the Triceratops will not take your child (ages 3+) for a ride around his or her room, but Kota does provide the most realistic baby dinosaur experience anyone has had in the last 65 million years. Since people weren’t around when real dinos were last roaming, who’s to say that I’m wrong?

Kindle your child’s curiosity for prehistoric creatures and make-believe adventures with his very own life-sized baby dinosaur. You may have seen “talking” and “moving” toys before, but chances are your dino-loving toddler has never seen a prehistoric “pet” that comes to “life” with realistic electronic sounds and motion. It’s fossil-sized fun standing just over three feet tall. A hidden handle helps kids hold on once they climb onto the dinosaur’s back. Realistic stomping sounds add to the make-believe fun as kids bounce in place on the spring seat. Talk to KOTA the Triceratops and he roars back with expressive tail, head, eye, mouth and horn movements. Hold out your hand and KOTA “sniffs” it! In fact, it’s easy to trigger all of his sensitive spots – try tickling his belly or chin to make KOTA “laugh”. And when you think this pretend dinosaur has worked up an appetite, be sure to “feed” KOTA his leafy snack – it really sounds like he’s munching on it! Four different adventure-themed tunes set the mood for your child’s wild imagination as he embarks on a dino-filled daydream. But don’t worry! A convenient volume control switch lets you adjust the level or turn it off. KOTA the Triceratops may look thick-skinned, but just one stroke on his scaly-like fabric “hide” will prove he’s really a soft and snuggable playmate who’s ready for all of your child’s dino-roarin’ escapades. Dinosaur figure comes with leafy snack and instructions.

photo and descriptive quotes from Amazon

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Moe information has just come in from Robert concerning the new WowWee Rovio spy cam robot. After watching these new videos, you may decide that Rovio is exactly what you need for keeping an eye on things when you can’t be home…

Hello Judie in BFE, [Ed note: you see how he is?! ]

WowWee is pulling out all the stops with their new Rovio spy cam robot. Instead of the usual toy style videos they have already produced and published 3 gloss high quality teaser style videos that are high in information content and devoid of fluff. The 3 short TV style videos just published to YouTube give you a crisp look at the Rovio’s features, web interface, and home networking requirements in a rapid yet clear look at their flagship robot product for 2008. Here they are:

Meet Rovio – TV commercial style clip , short and sweet

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It looks like the 2008 holiday season is going to be chock full of robotic goodness – and I’m not just talking about the huggable and fuzzy types, either. Here is the latest on the Rovio remote surveillance robot, sent in from our buddy Robert Oschler… Continue Reading

When I was a child, I absolutely loved stuffed animals; I had such a massive collection residing on my bed that they threatened to push me off should I stretch out or roll over in the middle of the night. One of my fondest wishes at that time was that some of my favorite stuffed animals could be more life-like and animated. Granted, this was in the 70s, and the closest things we had to robotic toys back then were those obnoxious stuffed dogs that came with a wired battery pack so that they could walk a few steps, bark, and then walk a bit more. These toys certainly weren’t huggable, you wouldn’t want to sleep with them, and once the initial trill of watching them do their “thing” wore off, they would invariably wind up in the bottom of a little girl’s toy bin.

Fast forward thirty plus years (ack! did I just admit that?) and we find that little girls still love their stuffed animals, they still hug on them and sleep with, and they still long for a more realistic “pet” experience. Gone are the wired yap-dogs, and in their place we now have much more life-like and animated animals such as those in the new WowWee Alive series.

I was sent their Lion Cub, and from the minute I opened the outer box, I knew exactly who I would employ as its primary “testers”. My boyfriend has two daughters, ages 5 and 9, and they both love stuffed animal; their beds bear silent testament to this fact. Would this particular toy get any type of special treatment once they had discovered its capabilities? Or would it end up in the bottom of their toy bin like the yap-dogs of yesteryear? There was only one way to find out…

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Robert Oschler teased us with glimpses of Wrex, the junkyard dawg, several months ago. Now that sassy canine has crossed our borders, and Robert has the scoop! Continue Reading

If you’ve been intrigued by our previous posts on the new WowWee Femisapien, or E.M.A. the Kissing Robot, then you’ve probably been waiting to hear when she would become available. Robert Oschler, our neighborhood robot guru, has got the low-down…

Hello Judie,

WowWee’s first female robot ever, Femisapien, is now available for purchase for $99 (USD). So far she’s been spotted for sale at Amazon, Target, and WowWee’s online store and listed as being in stock. Femisapien is also known as E.M.A. the Kissing Robot.

Amazon

Target

WowWee Online store

My 5000 word detailed review and companion video review of Femisapien

Thanks,
Robert Oschler
RobotsRule.com

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Robert Oschler is making sure that none of us miss a bit of Pleo cuteness; this time we get to be voyeurs enjoying Linus’ day at the Changes Salon…

Hello Judie,

Put this under the “truth is stranger (and more fun) than fiction” category. Here’s a video that shows Pleo World member maggie44n’s Pleo named Linus getting the full treatment at the Changes Salon, including a fossil rock massage:

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