In Depth Review of the WowWee Tri-Bot Robot

WowWee got it right when they released their new Tri-Bot robot. He is very entertaining, easy to use, and extremely fun. Tri-Bot has tons of features the entire family can use. Below you will see a detailed review of each of Tri-Bot's functions. He's funny, he's cute, and he's only $99.

When you first purchase your Tri-Bot, unpacking him is quite a chore. You will need some wire cutters and a Philips screw driver in order to get him unpacked easily. Tri-Bot is secured in his box with wires and straps around each of his appendages. Once you find them, cut each one, and he should lift right out of the box. Once you get the little guy out, you can remove the battery compartment door in the remote and place your 3 AAA batteries in there. Then, remove the battery compartment door on the Tri-Bot with your screwdriver and insert the 8 AA batteries to get him going. Now you are ready to introduce yourself to your new Tri-Bot!

Tri-Bot stands on three unique wheels. He can move in all directions (including diagonally) and can even spin in circles. I have tried Tri-Bot on hard wood floors, tile, and thin carpet. I have not had the chance to move him around on thick carpet yet. He moves quite fast on each floor type I have tested him on. I have ran him over a thick rug that I have and of course he slows down a bit, but he is still able to move around. You can use each of his features on any floor type, but the easiest is definitely hard flooring or very short pile carpet.

Tri-Bot comes with a small remote control that anyone can use. You can simply tilt the remote in the direction you'd like him to move, and Tri-Bot will move. It is not necessary to use the directional buttons on the keypad to get him to move. Now, you can only use the tilt feature to move him forward, backward, left or right. It does not work for diagonal movements. The remote control has simple buttons that make it easy to use right out of the box.

Once you get the basics of the remote, you can let your Tri-Bot run free or control him however you'd like. He has an extremely hyper personality. I found myself laughing at many things he says and does. For instance, if he is idle for a bit, he will start singing or begging you to play with him. He says "I'm seeing things from a completely different perspective" if he falls over. He has told me that I need to vacuum my rug also which was quite hysterical. Sometimes I find myself just leaving him alone because I want to see what he'll say next.

Tri-Bot comes with different modes containing different characteristics. He has a home function that allows him to try to find you by searching for the signal from the remote. So you can walk away from him, press the home button and he will begin his search. I was kind of disappointed with this feature because it only works if he is in the same line of sight as the remote. The remote functions do not work unless they are in the same line of sight as well. This feature would work better if that were eliminated, but it is still a neat feature to have. He also has a demo mode where he shows off his best movements and features. Each time you press the demo button, he will do different things. In this mode, he will show off his moves and tell you what games he can play. He also has guard mode (which come with most WowWee robots). You press the guard button on the remote, place him in the area he should guard, and then tap his head to confirm. Any movement around him will cause his alarm to sound. This is actually quite funny and a great feature. He starts sounding, his searchlight on his head pops out, his ears pop out, and he starts screaming. This can be quite entertaining, especially in the dark!

You can set your Tri-Bot to alert you after a certain amount of time like an alarm clock. I wouldn't look at is as an alarm clock though. Look at it as a timer function. You can't set him to wake you up daily at 7am. You must set him to wake you after 1 minute, 10 minutes , 30 minutes etc. Once he is set, he will alert you after the time comes. Believe me, this is a crazy alert. He is loud, and this is just as hilarious as him being in guard mode. Tri-Bot can also roam at the press of a button. He will explore your home and say some very funny things as he moves about. He won't run into anything as his sensors work very well. After a few minutes, he exits roam mode on his own. You can also program him with up to 40 movements. After you program him, at the press of a button on your remote, he will perform the movements you have programmed. This would be a great way to get him to move about your house or get him to drive your pets insane. I don't like that you can't save the program feature. Once you turn him off, you have lost the program you just entered. You would have to re-program him every time you turn him on. He also has a standby and sleep mode to preserve battery life.

Tri-Bot also comes equipped to play some fabulous games with you. He has the pattern game, which I feel is the easiest. He basically drives around in a path. Then, he wants you to recreate that path and drive him around exactly the same way. If you recreate the correct pattern, you win. Also, the maze game is pretty fun. He will drive around in a complex path and then you have a small amount of time to drive the same path. He will speak some hints along the way and if you run him into a wall in the maze, he will bump off of it. The 3^rd and final game is the minefield game. He lays out a path and again you will recreate the path. If there is a mine in front of him, he will let you know by beeping. The closer you get, the faster he beeps. Your job is to move him around to a safe spot with no beeping (that means no mines). If you happen to hit a mine, he will go through his blow up routine which is also quite hysterical. His games are very fun I must say.

Overall he is a great novelty robot. Don't expect Tri-Bot to answer questions you ask him or go grab you a drink from the kitchen. He is an entertainment robot that has fancy features anyone can use. He has a fabulous unique 3-wheel system and some great personality. I believe he is a must-have for anyone who is interested in robots.