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Pleo Robot Dinosaur Back From Extinction

Posted by kdawson on from the one-pleosaur-please dept.

robotsrule sends in a follow-up to our earlier discussion of the bankruptcy of Ugobe, maker of the Pleo robotic dinosaur: "Jetta Company Limited, based in China and Hong Kong, the company that manufactured the Pleo baby robot dinosaur for Ugobe, has bought the intellectual property rights and other assets at the Ugobe bankruptcy sale that occurred on May 21. Jetta is an established company with a 32-year history in manufacturing. They have issued a short press release announcing Pleo's rebirth. Steve Ohler, the US liaison for Jetta, confirmed the news, saying that the company is firmly committed to re-launching Pleo and continuing the line including producing accessories such as the vital battery and charger components. Jetta, as the original manufacturer, is the best possible company to have acquired Ugobe's intellectual property and to announce plans to re-launch Pleo. Ohler remarked that all of the equipment needed to produce Pleos and accessories is still intact and ready to go."

14 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. Shucks... by thebryce · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...I was hoping for a leopluradon. A magical leopluradon.

  2. Remember 'Chaos Theory' Guys! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Surely, after seeing Jurassic Park, nobody could possibly think that reviving an extinct race of robotic dinosaurs could possibly be a good idea?

    1. Re:Remember 'Chaos Theory' Guys! by Starayo · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dear god. Skynet + robotic raptors.

      Guys, we're fucked.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  3. that was a close shave! by edittard · · Score: 4, Funny

    We can all sleep soundly tonight, secure in the knowledge that we can still have toy robotic dinosaurs.

    --
    At the bottom of the /. main page it says 'Yesterday's News'. Well they got that right.
  4. Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by momerath2003 · · Score: 2, Funny

    What is a Pleo, and why should I care?

    A: It's an animatronic toy dinosaur from ~2006. And I shouldn't care.

    It would be nice for the article summary to briefly state this.

    --
    I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
    1. Re:Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by Rhaban · · Score: 3, Funny

      maker of the Pleo robotic dinosaur

      the company that manufactured the Pleo baby robot dinosaur

      They should have used the word "toy" somewhere, just to be sure it wasn't giant rocket-launching baby dinosaur robots.

    2. Re:Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by clickety6 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why should you care?

      It's a dinsoaur AND it's a robot!

      Yes! A dinosaur AND a robot in one!

      All it needs is a frickin' laser mounted on it's head and you can take over the world!

      --
      ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
    3. Re:Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by junglee_iitk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes they do! In the very first sentence of it:

      "... a follow-up to our earlier discussion of the bankruptcy of Ugobe, maker of the Pleo robotic dinosaur"

      How lazy are you to not check the article on Ugobe before complaining on Pleo?

    4. Re:Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by camperdave · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Two 32-bit ARM7 processors
      Four 8-bit processors for motor control
      Fourteen tiny motors
      One color camera
      Two microphones
      One IR transmitter
      One accelerometer
      Eight capacitance touch sensors

      Why should you care? Sounds like something that's just begging to be hacked.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    5. Re:Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by Bluesman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Good idea. My hacked version will seek out other robot dinosaurs and "mount" them. I think it will be great for parties.

      --
      If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
    6. Re:Maybe I'm ignorant, but... by SpinyNorman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think "animatronic toy" is being a bit dismissive, even if it didn't live up to the hype.

      It's really an autonomous robot that learns and reacts to the environment - it's not just a robot with a remote or a canned set of moves.

      That said, the degree of learning and autonomy it displays seems to be rather limited, although the promise was for this to be imporoved in subsequent software releases.

      The reason you, as a Slashdot denizen, should care, is:

      1) As an autonomous robot - with vision and hearing - it is pretty cool.

      2) It's eminently hackable, and really an excellent value as a chunk of mechanics and electronics.

  5. What is it. by will_die · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you are wondering what this is, here is a picture and here.
    More info here.

  6. Well that makes sense by theIsovist · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I always remembered these things having a strong following among both hackers, and the children of the rich. There's a market there, now if only the chinese company can lower the cost so it doesn't seem like you're buying an actual pet without any of the benifits of having a live animal.

    1. Re:Well that makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      > the benifits of having a live animal.

      Portable fresh food?