Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE: Tech Toy Product Review
A Child's Fantasy Toy, a Parent's High-tech Fascination
The first clue that this toy is unique, besides its price tag, is that fact that it has its own operating system. It has so many different sensors and indicators, and the operating system supplies the advance software control that turns it into an almost "living" creature. Much as the little Tamagotchi toys which were a craze some years ago, the little pocket "creatures" which needed human tending, the Pleo has its own needs, moods, and reactions to the way its owner interacts with it.
For the techies, a quick summary of the gadgets - infrared communication, infrared interrupter, a chin, head, shoulder, leg and rear touch sensors, tilt and shake sensors, ground sensors, force feedback sensors, front and rear speakers, color camera, binaural microphones (for directional hearing), and an NiMH rechargeable battery.
What that means in the Pleo can see, hear, feel, speak, and move. There's a website where you can register your Pleo, download software, share ideas with other Pleo owners, and get information and support.
The Pleo is a kind of "animatronic" device, familiar to those who've visited Disneyworld. Drawbacks of these devices in the past have been that they had limited programming, and the play was limited to the programmer's imagination and available memory. The Pleo was "born" into a time when these resources are more plentiful, and the design of the software allows further software to be written and downloaded so that the creature can constantly be evolving.
According to Digibeings.com, a USB port and SD card slot provide access to the Pleo's "open architecture," allowing anyone with a creative mind and software talent to enhance their Pleo, and share their enhancements. Further development tools are planned, they say.
At the amazon.com site, one of the online sources of the toy along with Sharperimage.com, there are several videos which allow you to not only see the Pleo in action, but listen to the ideas of Pleo creators. Retail price is around $350, but discounts are available.
The Pleo is designed to survive some rough and tumble play, and will even walk with a limp if injured, but it is better for children 7-8 and older, who can engage the toy in meaningful ways, and learn along with it. Battery life limits play to only about an hour, when to Pleo will become sleepy before it shuts down. If it falls asleep at other times, a touch will wake it up. A four-hour charge brings the battery to full again.
When the Pleo arrives, it's an uncoordinated, innocent newborn. Only after interactive play and exploring will it develop its own unique personality. Children will gain a lot from the feedback of influencing the growth of the Pleo, and seeing how it adapts and learns about them and its world. If there are more than one of them, the Pleos will recognize each other and interact as well, yielding even more possibilities both for the human owners and the developing Artificial Intelligence in the Pleo.
Watching the realistic looking and feeling Pleo is an amazing feeling, as the creature truly behaves like an independent, social being. Beyond the toys that simply teach the owner how to control and direct motion, the Pleo requires the owner to adapt and understand it, and invites creative solutions, at younger ages in training the dinosaur, and for older children even understanding the technology and software and adding their own features to the Pleo's repertoire.
Some users have reported that the Pleo has minor problems with sensors and the one-hour battery life is disappointing, but customer response has generally been that the Pleo is such a delight that it is a welcome addition to their families. It comes with a 90-day warranty, and sites such as Amazon.com offer extended warranties as well.
"PleoWorld", http://www.pleoworld.com/discover/lookinside
"Sharperimage.com: Pleo Dinosaur - A UGOBE Life Form", http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/product/sku__UG020`
"Amazon.com: Pleo Dinosaur - A UGOBE Life Form",
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000RWEGCO/ref=nosim/coffeeresearch114038-20
"Digibeings.com - autonomous robots - hack", http://www.digibeings.com/index.php/content/view/10/38/
Published by Dave Maddox
Dave is a man with his eyes open, always exploring and sharing. With undergraduate work in literature and classics at Harvard University, he has worked in the computer field to enable his travel and other ha... View profile
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- Pleo is a truly interactive, evolving toy
- Battery life is short, some users may be frustrated
- Pleo software can be added to by the user