Intellectual property for the Pleo robotic dinosaur was tipped to be hot stuff when creator company Ugobe filed for bankruptcy, and that seems to have turned out to be true. Jetta Company Ltd have acquired not only the IP and assets from Ugobe’s bankruptcy sale on May 21st, but since they’re already the company responsible for physically manufacturing Pleo they’re apparently set to resume production imminently.
It seems like DIY robots are gaining momentum, as more low-cost and straightforward controllers become available. Latest is this wireless-equipped model, based on the MAKE Controller and using a Logitech wireless ethernet bridge actually intended to get an Xbox console online.
“If I only had a brain” sang the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and while we’re not suggesting the film would’ve tied up one of its plotlines a whole lot quicker had Steve Jobs & co been around, using an iPod touch as a brain doesn’t seem to have done this little Japanese robot any harm. Named Robochan by its creator, it’s a combination of the Kondo KHR-2HV robot kit and Apple’s touchscreen PMP.
Video demo after the cut
Given how much people like to anthropomorphize their robots, what sort of lovable personality could you assign to an autonomous floor-cleaning inchworm? Designed by Panasonic, the Fukitorimushi (”wipe-up bug”) drags itself across floors, wiping up dust and dirt with its nanocloth underbelly.
Video demo after the cut
With the weather picking up, there’s nothing like stepping outside and kicking a ball around with some friends. Or so I hear; I’m too busy inside glued to my laptop. But a team of Rovio robots over at NYU decided to have a kickabout, their student trainers coming up with software that allows the WowWee ‘bots to recognize a bright yellow tennis ball and shovel it toward the red goal.
If WowWee’s Rovio whet your appetite for a remote-controlled WiFi webcam robot, but it’s just too big to surreptitiously scurry around your office, then how about the Surveyor SRV-1 Mobile Robot. Small enough to fit into a (relatively meaty) palm, the SRV-1 connects via WiFi b/g and can beam back video from its 1.3-megapixel camera.
Video demo of the SRV-1 after the cut
Sentry robots like WowWee’s Rovio are all well and good – wandering around your house while you’re away, and allowing you to log-in remotely and make sure nothing amiss is taking place – but they generally fall short when it comes to actually dealing with a problem. That was the starting point for RoboCommunity member Colt45, who hacked his Rovio into a remote fire extinguisher.
Pleo’s fate may be decided by a bankruptcy sale, but the robot dinosaurs already out in the wild are too busy being hacked to worry about IP. Modder Andrey has developed a system which allows him to remotely-control his Pleo via a Wii Nunchuck, with the head, tail and basic movements all mapped to the Nintendo controller’s buttons and motion-sensors.
Video demo after the cut
Further details of Ugobe’s bankruptcy have emerged, including hints regarding whether the Pleo-maker’s dinosaur robot will be scooped up by a rival toy firm. According to CEO Caleb Chung, the financial collapse came about when European and Asian customers – who made up 90-percent of Ugobe’s business – failed to secure their own funding, leaving Pleos sat in crates across the world without the money to pay for them.
After we wrote about the Tapescape robot yesterday, maker Michael Columbo and his co-creator Ilan Schifter flagged up an Instructable with directions to make your own tape-following machine. If you’ve ever wanted a bizarre looking ‘bot that plays glitchy movement, and a way to get rid of an old boombox, this is the project for you.
Video demo of the Tapescape robot after the cut
SlashGear Japan
