Searching for robot dogs after the Aibo’s end of production I found some nice toys.
The first is called iDog by Sega Toys (the name don’t sound new, reminds something…). It seems more an MP3 gadget than a real dog. According to the video I saw (see link at the end of post), it moves only head, ears and tail, but it follows the music with blinkin leds on the head.
This little robot react to music. More, it has a speaker inside and a little 3.5mm jack connection so you can plug it into a MP3 or CD players and of course the iPod. If you turn the music off the iDog complais and barks (could be a little annoying). About $50.
More interesting is the i-Cybie (by Silverlit from Honk-Kong) that is a real robot pet similar to Aibo (less powerful but cheaper: official price is $199, can buy for less).
It can respond to sound, touch, voice commands and its own remote control but don’t let that fool you i-Cybie has a fun repertoire of tricks it can perform, including telling you when his batteries are running low & also has a walk up charger to power itself .
i-Cybie moves and has many sensor:
- Motion sensors allow i-Cybie to detect movement around him. These are used when you place him in Guard mode.
- Obstacle sensors are used to navigate your home and avoid bumping into things.
- With the touch sensor on his back you can pet him and he’ll react to your touch.
- Sound sensors let i-Cybie respond to your voice commands or to clap commands.
- Tilt sensors let him know when he has fallen down.
- Light sensors let him detect changes in ambient light in your room.
Last, i-Cybie can interact with other i-Cybie’s using it’s built-in IR communicator, as long as the other dog is within 3 feet of him. I ask what kind of info they can exchange. My conspiracy oriented mind can imagine many interesting situations.
Ok. I’m searching for other pet robots. Stay tuned.
Links:
iDog (eDog in Europe) video.
i-Cybie official site and fan site.