Slashdot Mirror
First Peek at Robosapien V2
balancedi writes "According to OnRobo, the New Robosapien looks to be a lot more fun but it had better be at a $200 price tag. While still controllable via remote he now is more autonomous. He also has more range of motion, better hands, a vision color system, and a laser tracking system."
Without them no one would know it was cool.
The message on the other side of this sig is false.
"and a laser tracking system."
Well this'll get it in trouble under the U SAP AT RIOT act! Better watch out for airliners when playing with this.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
I, for one, welcome our new Version 2 Laser-Tracking (Now with Colorvision!) overlords!
DAMN YOU OCTODOG! DAMN YOU TO HELL!
... Is robots with frickin' laser beams. Is that too much to ask?
"With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine." -- RFC 1925
Mumbling something about finding Sara Connor.
moo.
I give it five years before this 'toy' evolves through annual improvements into something that can fetch a cold beer from the fridge for you. A robot priced in the high end toy range that could actually do household chores, is that still a toy?
My girlfriend is terrified of robots, a true phobia. She better get over it soon.
Peter
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1748603,00.as p
Some nice popups of the new trio of bots coming out this year. Tilden isn't at the CES show, and says that these models are early prototypes, but promises that the New York Toy Fair show will show off much better developed versions.
Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high...
I'm actually much more impressed with robo-pet. The proposed price of $70 for something that can manage commands, has touch sensors, can be walked on a "laser leash" (assuming that means it'll follow a laser pointer around) and can learn like AIBO at almost 1/10th of the cost....WOW
I sincerely doubt the new robosapien will be a success though. For $200 it's no longer in the upper range of toys - it's entering the price range of video game systems, televisions... the feature set is impressibe but most will likely never really use them.
Unless there are practical applications - RoboSapien - get me a beer!
Darn, somebody beat me to the submission. Anyways, here's my version, which has some more information:
Robotics physicist Mark Tilden has unveiled his follow-ups to the Robosapien, which was mentioned on slashdot last year and sold rather well during the holidays. The foremost is the $200 Robosapien V2, which will be able to lie down, stand up, speak, use its built-in camera to recognize objects and people, and follow a laser-traced path. The $70 Robopet will be able to perform simple tricks and learn through positive and negative reinforcement. The $100 Roboraptor is covered with sensors and will have three different moods: hunter, cautious, and playful. The Robopet is scheduled to launch in July, with the Robosapien V2 and Roboraptor scheduled for September. I can't wait to see what hacks people come up with for this.
Actually, If they're anything like the original Robosapien, these are immensely hackable -- Mark Tilden (the creator) actually designed them with this in mind. Check out here and here to see what sorts of things people have done.
Certainly it's useful. I've just programmed mine to say "Welcome to WalMart" and now it's earning $5.45 an hour while I just sit here drinking beer.