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Ugobe, Maker of Pleo, Files For Bankruptcy
AshboryBassPlayer writes "Ugobe has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy — i.e., not reorganization but liquidation. We first discussed the company's Pleo robotic dinosaur toy in 2006. According to the company, 100,000 Pleos were sold in 2008. CEO Caleb Chung is optimistic about the auction value of intellectual property that Ugobe holds. Pleo featured 14 servo joints, a camera, and an SD Card for storage. The final street prices were commonly between $275 and $350, much higher than an earlier hoped-for price point under $200."
I have never seen the words "Pleo" or "Ugobe" until today. I would suggest that nobody else has either - which makes Chapter 7 inevitable.
That, and even if I HAD heard of either, even their hoped-for $200 is way too much for a toy, I'm sorry.
It seems like every other day I see a newly released product introduced at a 20-30% premium above initially announced price. Soliciting interest by being optimistic about cost seems to be the norm, but I wonder if these projects would be more successful if they were honest about expected prices.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
It's the second time they're going extinct!
I'm not saying its not a cool idea, but really, all a kid wants is a dinosaur he can pick up, and then smash against other dinosaurs. Sometimes its possible to be too complex, and too expensive for parents.
The musings of just another geek and his junk.
Please destroy your Geek card now. You are not worthy.
... who knows? World Dominance perhaps?
They are (were) really neat, really stupidly expensive toys targeted at the wrong demographic. Of course they were going to fail.
If they would have listened to me and put lasers in them
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
No, I remember reading about the Pleo robotic dinosaur, last year, I think. There was one review where the reviewers tortured it, and a /. article.
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
IIRC, there were at least two demonstrations of it prior to it actually being sold. Both used the EXACT SAME scripted series of actions,and both were claimed to be unscripted reactions to the environment.
What the world needs right now is another Heathkit Hero style DIY robot kit, not a $200 "one trick pony" toy.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
That was expected; it was predicted in Robotics Business Review last month. The price point was far too high.
WowWee's RoboReptile is almost as advanced, and has a price point around $90.
WowWee is a company to watch. They have a broad line of reasonably good robotic toys at modest price points. They even sell a fembot.
It's obvious that they never did any "kid testing" on their toy. If you give a kid a dinosour toy, he will do the obvious kid thing: Pick it up by the tail and repeatably bash it against his toy truck.
$275 is too much to spend on a hammer, unless it's for government use.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
That might be, but if so, it was a terrible business plan and as an earlier poster said, Chapter 7 was inevitable.
I actually do remember the release of the Pleo and saw a couple in stores. Everyone looked at it for about 10 seconds, saw the price tag and said "Ouch!", walking away quickly.
Especially in THIS economy, people can't justify hundreds of dollars spent on a gimmicky toy, which is what Pleo amounts to. I'm as big a geek as anybody, but I still look for products that actually do something cool I think I'll use. For example, I just saw a sale today on 1TB SATA drives for about $78 each. I could buy 3 for a RAID 5 array in a computer and still have spent less than a Pleo. I know I can do a lot with the drive space....
I totally agree with the person who said a full-fledged "Hero 1" type robot would be a better product. Make it versatile enough, and schools will pay the higher price to have one in a learning lab, etc.
That's a little harsh for a first-time offense.
I move that he must hand in his Geek card, but can apply for reinstatment at a later date provided that:
1. He has disassembled and reassembled a Cleo without referring to the documentation
2. He can recite the Wrath of Khan, the Princess Bride, and the Holy Grail from memory
3. He provides proof that he has lived in his mother's basement for at least 6 months prior to the date of the application.
Then we can vote on his reinstatement.
Seriously, though... What if he's a theoretical mathematics geek? Then he'd be like, 4 layers away from being required to know about this robot. Did you bother to think of that?!
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Do you have any idea how many chicks I've lured back to my mom's basement with the line, "Hey baby, wanna see my Pleo?" I assure you, $200 is a small price to pay for a bad-ass chick magnet like this robotic dinosaur!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
That's true. I was a bit harsh. He might be able to faultlessly recite the entire dialog of every single Star Trek show. Hell, he might even understand String Theory (or pretend to at any rate).
Maybe he should just fold and spindle his card for now. Mutilate it later when he claims to never have watched "Serenity".
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
It's not perfect, but I live here and love it. I'm not part of the CVB, but I welcome any well-run business fed up with their home state to take a look at Boise. It's a great place to live.
"Nothing to see here. Move along."
>They were only a step or two more advanced than those >"talking dolls" like barney and tickle me elmo.
My friend, you are insane. They are/were light years beyond any of that. These guys had a full behavioral and learning model, not a cyclic set of preprogrammed responses to button pushing. To say nothing of a 'bump/turn left/bump/turn left path finding algorithm and a low battery, follow an infra red beacon' pattern.
Yes, it was a first generation implementation, but it is the first and ( so far ) best platform from which to build emergent behavioral complexity.
Example - it is entirely possible to have added a behavior for him to seek his 'nest' ( charger ) - when 'tired' ( low battery ). It fits easily and completely within the learning model - he just didn't last long enough or have the budget behind him to reach that far. More, since it would likely be coded as a basic drive, it can easily interact with the other basic drives and stimuli - ie, the lower the battery, the more it 'wants' to go to the charger.
Add to that a sandbox tool with access to drives, behaviors, moods and animations and you have not only a cool toy, but a great educational tool as well.
As for expensive, he was pricey for a toy, but try pricing the servos and chips that ran him and then tell me how over priced he was for the capability... and unless they changed policies, you could bypass the sandbox and completely replace the ugobe firmware on the microcontrollers, and replace it with your own.
In short, read a little more about him. He was a tremendous technical accomplishment, and a heck of a pet to boot.
Do you have any idea how many chicks I've lured back to my mom's basement
My guess.... zero. ;-)
If the pet dispersed a local concentration of nucleus bonded electrons on the synthetic fiber stranded floor covering, would he learn to make his physical presence approach zero?
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
Probably about as many chicks as I've scored by telling them I have the first season of Battlestar Galactica on HD-DVD.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
My guess.... zero
Well yes, that is correct. But that is just because a) I own my own house, and haven't lived in my mom's basement for over 30 years now, and b) my wife has voiced strong objections to my bringing other women home.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.