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Continue reading dSolar panels for Mindstorms bring green power to your Lego creations

dSolar panels for Mindstorms bring green power to your Lego creations originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pleo, the lovable, green robotic dinosaur, is getting a second lease on life. After going through a bankruptcy that nearly killed it, the dinosaur is set to be reborn with a new skin and upgraded features.

The revamped Pleo will be called Pleo RB and will come in new colors such as purple and blue with slight variations across all models.

“We’re going to change color on the production line and eye color, so two Pleos coming off the line at the same time will look different,” Derek Dotson, CEO of Innvo Labs told the BobThePleo forum.

Each Pleo will now be seeded with a “personality” on the assembly line so off the shelf some Pleos will learn faster, while others get happier faster, says Dotson.

“It will be not only how you treat it that will affect it’s personality, but it is actually born with certain characteristics,” he says.

The new Pleos will have a battery life of up to two hours and an RFID-based “sense of smell.”

Pleo’s comeback will be mark a new chapter in the robotic dinosaur’s rocky history. Pleo launched in January 2007 for about $350. It’s range of motion and ability to respond to human interaction made it a favorite among robot and toy enthusiasts. In two years, Pleo maker Ugobe sold about 100,000 Pleos.

But in April last year, Ugobe filed for liquidation. While that signaled the end for the road for Pleo, a Hong Kong-based company Jetta stepped in to buy the intellectual property rights and other assets for the Pleo. Jetta spun out a company called Innvo Labs, which is now in charge of the Pleo.

The new Pleos are expected to be available later this month but there’s still no word on how much they will cost. It is also not clear if Pleo RB will be sold in the U.S. as Dotson says so far they have tied up distribution for the Asia market only.

Check out the video to see what the reborn Pleo looks like:

See Also:

• Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Maker Goes Bankrupt
• Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Attempts a Comeback
• Dinosaur Abuse: Pleo Tortured on Video
• Ugobe Dinosaurs Battle for Survival
• Dinosaur Abuse: Pleo Tortured on Video

Photo: Pleo (Steve Rhodes/Flickr)

Pleo, the adorable robotic camosaur has pulled off a feat that’s eluded even the mighty, prehistory dinosaurs: rising from the dead. Say hello to Pleo II: The Revenge! (Okay, I added “The Revenge” part.)

After nearly going down with the bankrupt Ugobe Corp., Pleo was purchased by Innvo Labs late last year. During CES 2010, company COO Derek Dotson promised a new “plush” Pleo, but offered no timeline for delivery.

Now, he’s opened up to Pleo fan site BobthePleo and spilled all the details about Pleo II. No, it’s not plush. Instead the rubber-skinned Pleo II will arrive in two gender-specific colors (pink for the girl and blue for the boy). That rather unimaginative innovation aside, Pleo’s guts are getting a significant upgrade, too. Dotson promises additional four touch sensors and an RFID reader in its mouth to identify some of its new toys.

Study shocker: babies think friendly robots are sentient originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yeah, it’s almost time for the holidays, and smart busy-bodies are already checking items off their shopping lists. For that special someone, consider the most outrageously overpriced plastic toy we’ve ever seen. $65,000 buys you this “Emotive Robotic Avatar” from Hammacher Schlemmer, a little servo-actuated guy that can wave its arms around and go from looking happy (above) to evil (below). It’s all controlled by a tablet PC with a 30 foot range that receives a real-time video feed, as we saw when we checked this guy out at the Toy Fair earlier this year, back when he was called Quasai. As shown in the video after the break, the “operator” can even speak through the robot, which will pitch shift his or her voice, a trick sure to give your children nightmares. If that doesn’t work, just tell ’em you blew their college fund to buy the thing and they’ll have to get work study jobs. That ought to send the shivers up their spines.

[Thanks, Evan]

Continue reading Hammacher Schlemmer’s tablet-controlled ‘Emotive Robotic Avatar’ captures your heart, nest egg

Hammacher Schlemmer’s tablet-controlled ‘Emotive Robotic Avatar’ captures your heart, nest egg originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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