i-Sobot toy is aimed at grown-up kids
December 6, 2007
Tomy's i-Sobot has recently appeared on shelves in the US for $300. While that price may seem high for a toy, i-Sobot is considered a very advanced type of toy. Compared to other robots of its ilk, i-Sobot either far surpasses their abilities (e.g. WowWee's $150 Robopanda) or their affordability (e.g. Kyosho Corp.'s $2,000 Manoi or ZMP's $5,500 Nuvo, both of which require assembly).
I-Sobot may combine the best of both worlds in terms of fun and affordability. It comes fully assembled and programmed, but owners can choose from 200 pre-programmed patterns of movements by typing in a code to make the robot perform a desired move.
For example, the 6.5-inch tall robot can perform an air guitar routine in which its plastic arms move along with Hendrix-like sound effects. It can also mimic a chicken, clucking and bending forward to peck at the ground while holding its arms out like wings.
I-Sobot also performs a somewhat humorous slow march, stepping in time to an explosive sound conjuring the image of a giant robot stomping. It can even play both roles in an abbreviated Romeo and Juliet garden scene.
With its 17 motors, iSobot's actions can also be remotely controlled, including walking, somersaulting, push-ups , kung-fu kicks, and karate-chopping. A joystick on the remote makes i-Sobot walk forward, backward and sideways, and turn left or right. Pushing the remote's buttons in different combinations gets the robot to carry out preprogrammed moves.
Pressing different combinations of buttons can make the robot carry out a mini-performance. An accompanying booklet includes a menu of the movements, and by combining a series of them, users can choreograph an original mini-performance. However, i-Sobot can't be programmed with new positions like the more expensive kit robots, nor does it recognize faces or its surroundings.
The robot speaks 180 words and phrases, including "Happy Birthday" and "I love you." It is designed to recognize 10 voice commands, such as "How are you?" but often fails to respond properly. Instead, it recites an apologetic error message at those times.
According to Guinness World Records, i-Sobot is the smallest humanoid robot in commercial production. Named after the Japanese words for "love" and "play," i-Sobot is available in a white version in Japan and a black version in the US. It's set to arrive in Europe next year. While its features are all more than satisfactory, the biggest question that remains is whether a companion robot designed for people age 15 or over will catch on with a wide audience.
via: AP News
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