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[CaffeineChick05]

I had never heard of this Pleo Robo Pet before, but after doing some reading on it, I think it has a good possibility of catching on. I dont think its really meant to follow in Furby's footsteps as much as it's more of an 'Aibo' that the average person can afford.

Or maybe thats just what Im hoping for....

Im going to keep doing research on it...and depending on how it looks like the final product is going to turn out, I might just have to put in my preorder on Christmas Eve!

[Mimitchi]

Very cool, if you get it please let us all know what you think of him

[Jiro]

the price turns out to be $250!
and I found Pleo's official site

http://www.ugobe.com/pleo/index.html

Its kinda nice ^_^

[Kokuma]

We want Robo Mametchi! We want Robo Mametchi!

Bandai made this educational Doraemon robo toy couple of years ago, why there's no interactive AI Tama toys! urgh

About Camarasaurs:
Yesterday I saw this weird looking dino plush toy in gas station shelves with squary head and 2 large black spots on the top marking large nostrils, and I thought "what kind of freak dino is this trying to be?"

Now I know, those were Camarasaur/Morosaur plushies. Boy they were expensive...

[Mimitchi]

Hmm it's interesting. They should post some videos on their site.

[CaffeineChick05]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0C55PEcj5E&mode=related&search=

-A demo video of Pleo that's a few minutes long. It seems pretty impressive, but the demo version moves VERY slowly..

[Mimitchi]

Sorry guys but this thing looks like its a scripted toy and likely to be a total rip off, nothing life-like or random at all. Take a look at this video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgiB90lJNSY

It shows two different demos side by side released by the company at two diffedrent times... if you watch the movements... it's identical. They are trying to show how it's simulating life and it's reacting to it's environment but really the entire thing looks scripted, like the demonstrator knows exactly what is gonna happen so.. the demonstrator reacts according to the script he is expecting in both videos and the script is exactly the same. This robot, or at least this model, is not reacting to anything but what it's been programming to reacte to ahead of time... and nothing more it would seem.

Oh and I gotta add... the first 3 minutes was extremely boring.. even if this thing was really interactive.. wowsers what a boring little dino he would be. :/

[Lord Monkey]

I have to say, after seeing that video, I'm entirely unimpressed. I'm not going to sit here and compare it to an Aibo; it isn't trying to compete. So I'll compare it to something that has a wider range of motion, and more interactive programming: a Furby.

Furbys can detect loud sounds, furbys can detect light. Furbys actually interact with their users through voice and sensory capability. Furbys came out almost a decade ago, and cost an eighth of what this thing's supposed to cost...maybe I'm missing something, but if that's the demo video, there's nothing that would ever pique my interest in it.

And after watching the video Kat posted...that pretty much sums it up. Big waste of cash.

[Jiro]

I have to say, after seeing that video, I'm entirely unimpressed. I'm not going to sit here and compare it to an Aibo; it isn't trying to compete. So I'll compare it to something that has a wider range of motion, and more interactive programming: a Furby.

Furbys can detect loud sounds, furbys can detect light. Furbys actually interact with their users through voice and sensory capability. Furbys came out almost a decade ago, and cost an eighth of what this thing's supposed to cost...maybe I'm missing something, but if that's the demo video, there's nothing that would ever pique my interest in it.

And after watching the video Kat posted...that pretty much sums it up. Big waste of cash.

*agreed*
I agree with LM!

[Elana]

Okay, you guys are going to have to decide for yourselves what you believe, but when you read the rest of the comments on that YouTube page, there's a comment left allegedly by a UGOBE PR person named Julie Crabill. She says that the videos were for a demonstration at a particular conference, and that the Pleo was in "demo" mode. The second video was a "back-up" video for the conference in case something went wrong with the demonstration (which had to be exactly six minutes long), and Pleo was in demo mode for that video too, hence the identical motions. (I assume "demo" mode is a pre-set program of motions designed to give people a taste of what it can do, like the Robo Sapien dance.) The company maintains that when Pleo is released to the public, it will have all the features they described and be totally interactive. They even claim that it develops a unique personality as it learns, which can take up to three years.

The whole controversy is summarized in the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleo

So, you decide what you want to believe!