Next-gen Robosapiens to sport Segway tech
By Evan Blass 
posted Oct 7th 2005 4:35PM
posted Oct 7th 2005 4:35PM
If you're a parent who's always getting hassled by those Robosapien toys, prepare for things to get a lot worse. As if the little guys weren't mobile enough, next generation products from WowWee will incorporate Segway's Smart Motion gyroscopic technology, allowing youngsters to pilot their Roboraptors into almost every nook and cranny of the house. WowWee is the first company to license Segway's tech, which was previously limited to their own Human Transporter and Centaur concept vehicle. Better start robo-proofing all your stuff soon; new models in the Robonetics line will begin to appear next year.
O great, a robot that has sex
About time someone found a usefull application for that technology.
i remember when they were saying on the news that entire citys would be built around these new "segways"
I thought this robosapien V2 was supposed to be ready for the 05 holiday season.
I still can't get that stupid dance demo music outta my head from last Christmas...
We got an exclusive look at the new RoboSapien at RoboNexus. There's picturs and video up on the site, GoRobotics.net. See the URL above.
I like the idea of Robosapiens but when I've actually seen one it looks a bit crappy really. Far too slow moving and pretty difficult to get it to do anything useful. I suppose it's a step in the right direction though. Chris
Does this mean Robosapiens can ride a Segway? That's more than George W can do...Robosapien for President!
PS. WowWees wobble but they won't fall down!
They are planning on building one of those "cities" here in Greenville soon; perfect for the Segway.
Sounds like Rosie from the Jetsons, she rolled around with segway like movements.
This thing is pretty cool! Robosapien fights and pet teasing is just going to get so much better
I saw a preview of the "Robosapien 2" in a magazine. Looks cool. Can't wait to see this one in person.
There's another possibility. Kamen originally developed the Segway technology for the wheelchair application that could easily climb flights of stairs. Segway ended up with all the publicity, and the wheelchair got hung up in testing and approvals and acceptance by the medical community and authorities.
One of the most frequent complaints about the Robosapien series of robot toys is the way they walk. The upper body movements are smooth enough - http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/03/robosapien_pc_c.html but the side to side walk bothers a lot of folks. This doesn't seem to get any better with the V2, though the upper body and arm movement is amazing http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/10/new_robosapien_.html.
Even the Roboraptor, which everyone expected to be really fast on it's feet, rocks along just like a dinosaur version of the original Robosapien, even when it's exploring the house in roaming mode - http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/10/roboraptor_rule.html.
If Kamen (Segway) and Tilden (WowWee) really get their heads together (is any room big enough for the two of them?), why would they settle for just a rolling Robosapien V3 when they could hack together one that could climb stairs and roam the neighborhood?