i-Cybie robot dog unleashed
posted Mar 10th 2005 7:56AM
Awwww, c'mon, you know we couldn't resist that one. Continuing the recent trend in
robotic pooches, Outrageous Toys International is
launching a mechanical mutt that hopes to give the AIBO
some canine competition. The i-Cybie does some typical doggie moves such as sit, stand, shake and lie down, as well as
using its robotic brain to respond based on how it's treated: praise it and the dog will be in a good mood, but scold
it and i-Cybie will behave more passively. Sensors throughout its body help prevent it from bumping into things, and
enable i-Cybie to be sensitive to light changes. As if to kill us with cuteness, when it's getting low on batteries the
dog will go into the "downward-facing dog" yoga pose to let you know it needs recharging. We're pretty sure that makes
i-Cybie the only robot dog at home in an ashram. Available in July starting at $199.
[Thanks, eric]
This must be a re-launch of some kind, as I've had an i-Cybie for years. However, it went off the market a while back. Glad to see it has returned; now I should be able to get a replacement battery.
New!?!? I've had one that looks exactly like this, with the same name a features for over 2 years. I'n fact I got it on clearance for like $50.
Maybe this one has some updates, but it sounds like a re-release of an old product
Hmm. Released around three years ago. From Hasbro. Apparently someone has taken over the product line. But this thing has been around a long time -- my kids have one.
You're kidding right?
I bought this exact i-Cybie a couple of YEARS ago for a Christmas present. Cool toy, but the battery life is about 10+ minutes of play (not good at all).
This exact thing came out several years ago for the same retail price by Tiger Electronics. They didn't sell very well, I bought mine on clearance for $50. The real story here is that the fan community (which has done quite a bit of hacking on them in the years since, since it was a lot of robot for the price) apparently helped persuade to get them rereleased by a different company. They still only go for about $30 on ebay though.
it looks exactly the same but its "brain" is a lot more advance. It's supposed to move faster and respond faster. All in all, its supposed to be more "life like." I never owned the original so I don't know how life like that one was but this is still far far far away from what AIBO can do.
tsk tsk tsk... jumping the gun on an 2 year old product? What's going on guys? I bought one of these iCybies a couple of years ago for less than $50. It's fun to have around the aparment, but I have to say that its battery life could have been better. Now, if they've figured out how to have it automatically run back to a charging station like the Roomba? I'd pick another one up then.
The new one can charge itself theres video of it on this site http://www.i-cybie.com/ Click on line store and charging station demo video at the bottom of the popup. It homes in on the charger and docks itself.
Chances are, this is the same i-Cybie as the one launched a couple years back. I own a couple of them (clearance priced) and they're neat toys for the clearance price, but $199 is better spent towards a PSP.
Functions like recharging itself were supposed to have been released a while ago (being sold as a charging station and "chip" upgrade to existing i-Cybies). Don't know what happened, but it looks like production was pulled.
I bought one of these when I worked at Best Buy. They sold for $99 if I remember. It didn't even work, so I returned it.
" praise it and the dog will be in a good mood, but scold it and i-Cybie will behave more passively"
Why would anyone pay $200 for a fickle/disobedient robotic dog ? For $200 I DEMAND DISCIPLINE!!!
At least you don't have to house train it...
Oh yeah, and me too...a guy I work with brought one of these things in a couple years ago as well...old news...
Check out this site for i-Cybie modifications & parts.
http://buy-cybie.com
yep its a relaunch ! same dog better marketing although they have added the smart charger !
i-cybiehot.com
You guys are all a little behind the times apparently. First of all the walk up charger has been available for a couple of years - I've had one and it works very well - secondly, the chip that comes with the charger does enhance the personality and actions of the cybie quite a bit. I've really enjoyed mine.
awwwww how cute i want one if any ones wants to sell theirs cheap or know of any cheap places to buy one other than ebay and that ship to australia plz email me. i dont think they have come out in australia yet so i hope they do.
Bought a gold one of those a couple of years ago and cooked the battery following the error in the instructions. Cannot be charged for the time specified when charging for the first time. Since then, I purchased from Buy-Cybie, a new battery, the automatic charger timer, Docking station, chip programmer, and the Clear replacement shell. Replacing the shell was a scary operation(some parts had to be modified to fit my cybie version)but cybie survived. The new battery definately increased the run time though I never timed it and the timer has protected the new battery from cooking. The docking station is nice but only works in line of sight with limited range. Cybie slowly turns in a circle until it picks up a signal. It successfully docked about 80% of the time after seeing the base. I never tried the chip programmer as I only had one chip and mistakes can be terminal. I want to hack a computer interface eventually if I can find the hack site again. Nice toy with good potential. P.S. I am sorry to say that Buy-cybie is not selling at this time.