Will 'Mr. Personality' be Tomorrow's 'Mr. Potato Head'?
January 11, 2008
The new robot called "Mr. Personality" is one of the latest consumer robots unveiled by WowWee at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Openly trying to throw off the stereotype of unemotional robots, Mr. Personality aims to be the first party animal robot.
The robot features a full-color LCD screen on its face that displays his changing personality with animated facial features. Owners of Mr. Personality can even download new personalities from their PCs and transfer these personalities to their robot via USB or media card. While doing so, perhaps some owners will be wishing they could simply download new personalities for some of their human acquaintances . . . however, the technology is not there quite yet.
But Mr. Personality is more than enough fun all by himself, and is the epitome of an interactive robot. In a sense, he's reminiscent of another toy - that classic spud, Mr. Potato Head. But kids these days are far more sophisticated than rearranging plastic lips, noses, and glasses. In this age where the brain is the last frontier, everyone wants to play the role of psychologist, and give Mr. Personality whatever personality they desire.
Mr. Personality is no automaton, however. He uses infrared and audio sensors to entertain human companions with his own jokes, conversations, games and daily fortunes. So far, his sense of humor type hasn't been revealed, so no one knows for sure if his jokes are actually funny.
The robot also has 7 motors for movement, a 64MB integrated memory, and speakers. It requires 6 C size batteries. WowWee plans to begin shipping the robot this summer, with a suggested retail price of $249.99.
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