UGOBE "shocked and appalled" by destruction of Pleo at Maker Faire
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 9th 2008 12:50PM
posted May 9th 2008 12:50PM
Uh oh, it looks like we've got a full-fledged robot controversy on our hands. At the heart of it, as you might have guessed, is the recent obliteration of a harmless Pleo by a so-called ComBot known as Vicious Verdict at Maker Faire 2008. According to a UGOBE rep posting on the PleoWorld forum, the company is having none of it, saying that the "stunt" was done without its authorization or approval, and that there was "quite a ruckus" about it in UGOBE's office after they learned of the incident. The rep went on to add that many people, including the UGOBE reps at their Maker Faire booth were "shocked and appalled" by the act, and that they "make emotional bonds with Pleo too." The rep did seemingly confirm that the Pleo in question was in fact provided by the company, however, saying that, "it is perhaps a small consolation to know that the Pleo destroyed was a factory prototype." A cuddly, cuddly factory prototype.
[Via Tech Digest]
[Via Tech Digest]
WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE PLEO!?!?!?!
Until someone puts kittens, baby seals, or human children in that ring, I wish the over sensitive people would get a grip about the one toy robot that broke the other toy robot.
I see potential in T-Shirts featuring:
"The Pleo Broke, Get Over It."
Don't kid yourself Justin. If a Pleo ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!
@Blackstar. It wasn't a toy robot, I would love to see you stick your hands on the rotating blades....
@ Technex. Yes, it was a toy robot. It did not wish upon a star and become a real dinosaur.
As for placing anything in the ring, you first.
@Blackstar, Technex was refering to the remote controlled lawnmower that took out the toy dinosaur.
@ Technex That one isn't building cars or performing heart transplants either, so yes, that one is a toy too.
i'd be shocked and appalled too if'n my robot performed so poorly in a death match. get some cojones, pleo. get some gosh darned cojones.
I could see people getting upset maybe if they did that to Wall*E. But that would never happen because EVE would come and kick that robot's a**.
LOL!! +1
Burn the people who did this! Make them suffer!
It's not a real animal, UGOBE. Just have the Chinese make more.
So they provided the Pleo and didn't give authorization for its destruction? OK, I could see being a bit miffed about it. Shit happens. I don't know if "shocked and appalled" are quite the terms I'd use... but whatever.
I wonder why Sony and MS didn't sue when those dudes took a sledge hammer to their consoles.
Oh wait, UGOBE isn't suing. Crap, I was looking forward to a battle between UGOBE and a bunch of cool dudes.
its. a. TOY. run to mama and whine that the big bad bully broke your wittle toy.
in 2009.... PLEO SR. The DOOM BRINGER!
I'll buy two.
Pleo Jr. sucks!
Watch for the next pleo to have a self defense option that includes flamethrowers.
I for one etc...
To complete your sentence:
"I, for one, welcome our fire-breathing robotic dinosaur overlords"
Ok, all hippy-feel-good-save-the-whale-lets list to some emo-ness aside... it really was kind of a jerk thing to do.
Take away Pleo and Vicious and you have one guy pissing all over another guy's product.
Just put yourself in their shoes... you've built something you're proud of, and someone else comes and just stomps all over it. That's not cool.
Reminds me of highschool. A couple of kids took an old piano out to the river bed and destroyed it. Nothing like pointless destruction to prove how angry you are.
Nothing makes me sadder than seeing a piano or other instrument destroyed. A Pleo is a toy. A piano is a device through which you can express creativity and produce music.
In other words, bring on the television shows where people turn cuddly toys into vicious killing machines, then pit them against one another. Battlebots except with points awarded for deceptive cuddliness.
I guess Meat also gets sad whenever someone breaks a pencil. What a miserable life.
What about helpless fax machines?
("Office Space" reference, not that I needed to say)
Don't mention the pencils. T_T
well, the combot guys thought this was going to be funny, you know, like jackass and crap like that....
Hope they make a tirannosaur PLEX and rips apart this kids robots...
wow i love you retro boxing picture. that game is badass
how about some kevlar skin, a steel skeleton and a powerful drill (mounted on the head) along with that flamethrower...
Oh get over it, you whiny treehuggers. It's a dang toy. I once carried a dying family dog back to the house from the road after his snout was broken off, but still dangling by a piece of skin, after getting hit by a car.
... treehuggers?
Wow. thanks for ruining my afternoon.
It's not about the toy, it's about the behaviour and the mentality of people who think of these sort of immature violent outbursts as 'cool'.
Still think they should have found a "Tickle-Me-Elmo" to put in the ring - would have been much more satisfying to watch.
Agreed!
What about the new Elmo? That thing is seriously creepy.
However- I have a question: What's so cool about the Pleo? I like toys & have a toddler. Why are people buying these?
I think the people whining about Pleo are doing it tongue-in-cheek really.
Your kid builds a lemonade stand. Innocent and sweet enough.
Then a Coca-Cola truck comes crashing through and runs over your kids' stand, the whole time the driver hanging out the window, pointing and laughing,
"Haw Haw!"
Well don't be upset, it was just a bunch of f****** lemons. F*** you kid too while we're at it. Suck it up.
Besides, Vicious isn't even a true robot. It's just big-ass remote control car. Give me some money and I'll build you the same piece of crap. When these vehicles are able to battle it out without having some fat slob behind the remote, then I'll be impressed.
right, great analogy. except to make it work better, you should mention that you gave the lemonade stand away to the coca cola company and that your kids hate you for making them slave away in a lemonade stand to raise funds to buy you a book that will teach you how to construct proper analogies. OH YEAH, I WENT THERE.
I can see why UGOBE is a bit upset. If Apple gave someone a factory Mac Book Air at a computer show and they just smashed it to bits on camera I bet Steve would be a bit miffed too.
James is right! UGOBE isn't the only wimpy company out there! Let's not forget APPLE!
Steve would have such a person..............dealt with. The Apple faithful know this all too well.
Steve would enter a rage and blast that robot away with his laser eyes :D
But would Steve cry because he had an emotional bond with it? No.
I'm sure the MBA can take care of itself... it's almost thin enough on one side to be a makeshift axe. Just sharpen it down a bit.
I'm looking forward to Pleo's children with fire breath, lasers for eyes and titanium claws to kick that overgrown lawnmover into touch...
Grimlock! Avenge PLEO's death!
Alas Poor Pleo,
If you prick Pleo, does Pleo not bleed?
if you tickle Pleo, does Pleo not laugh?
If you poison Pleo, does Pleo we not die?
and if you chop Pleo into bits in a show of robot supremacy,
shall Pleo not revenge?
Oh wait it's an overly priced piece of plastic, that rich people buy their snotty children. Shouldn't the tree huggers be more upset about the large carbon footprint it probably takes to make just one of these buggers.
1. Authorization and/or approval are not needed. Sorry.
2. Before the match (and backstage), I would have carefully slit open the skin in a few places and dropped in some deep red liquid pouches. Then when it got ripped apart by Vicious... well... you know.
I can't believe there hasn't been a 'will Pleo blend?' comment yet. There is now.
well, i think no one asked if it could blend because we just saw it get blended
That's coz the video implies a yes. In fact, the answer to the blend question is always yes.
No, not _always_ yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdD54rG9oQA
Does Pleo play Crysis?
UGOBE, shut the *$#& up and send a bill for your loaner toy. And get a life.
It's not like they tossed it over a cliff.
Too soon?
Anthropomorphism of inanimate objects is bad.
Kinda remind me of this Ikea commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeyEXt7-0jU
Am I the only one who finds this response extremely funny?
e thinks the only reason UGOBE jumped on this is for the publicity.
LEAVE PLEO ALONE!!!!
Where's Johnny 5 when you need him.....
Who cares? Although, the proto type pleo could of sold for some good cash on ebay i bet
I would put a self-destruct, self-defense mechinism in the Pleo, say a couple ounces of C4 or Semtex surrounded by a fragmentation shell. Then it would be A.M.F. for an attacker.
It was like watching Bambi vs. Godzilla. Kind of felt sorry for Pleo who was just crying for attention then WHAM, decapitation. I know feeling sorry for an inanimate object is ridiculous, but that's like feeling sorry for that Ferrari F40 or Porsche Carrera GT that got wrapped around a telephone pole.
wtf... who cares... is PETA gonna get in on this crap too?
Am I the only one thinking "Flesh Fair" from A.I.?
I just lol'd. Hard.
reminds me of AI the movie =(
made me surprisingly sad to watch the video
What's next in the realm of high tech non-atrocities, euthanising a living leather coat made from mice stem cells?
Seriously you PETA people do to far now, get a life.
No, not _always_ yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdD54rG9oQA
Ahhhhh. Why do I feel upset when I see that? It's probably because they act so lifelike, it isn't like destroying a PS3, its a proper animal/robot!
I don't know how Ugobe could have been "shocked and appalled" when they were the ones who offered up the Pleo in the first place. Oh wait a minute... their little comment on the Pleo World forum is just more of their clever marketing to have people believe their toy actually is more than what it is. They did the same thing with Furby until people finally realised they were conned and started torturing them all around the world.
It's a toy with pre-programmed, repetitive actions and big blue eyes. Anyone who is upset by this video need to get a grip on reality, step away from their toy and go outside to experience the real world for a while.
I know, I'm late in arriving to this thread. Rather than try to be convincing, I invite you to see the recent Pleo videos by Grace2244 on YouTube. Pleos are highly interactive and not repetitive unless you keep putting them in the same place with the same things. Anyone would be robotic in that environment!
Preprogrammed for some behaviors. The AI factor is pretty awesome having owned one of the critters since December and one since March.
1) Create buzz for product via company representative.
2) Create sorry message after the buzz, generating more buzz and placating those who found it 'disturbing'. Mention disapproval at 'unauthorised' of totally green-light go-ahead.
3) Win with all the new exposure the product has received from people who had never seen one or heard about it before. Rub hands with glee.
Marketing in the modern age.
What the hell is this story about? What is everyone talking about? What am I doing here? What in blazes is going on?
Someone put a Pleo in the middle of a combat arena. What the f**k did they think was going to happen? I'm sorry, but one piece of plastic beat up another piece of plastic, and the people involved did it on purpose. No one should be whining about this. Go get a hobby, people.
And I, for one, welcome our stupid, violent, plastic robot overlords. There, I've said it.
so sad.
Oddly, no one seems to facing the fact that this Vicious Verdict is NOT a robot, but a stupid RC car with weapons glued to it by the seriously maladjusted.
Pleo IS a robot, and is a stepping stone towards more advanced models.
This was obviously a case of the maladjusts being jealous of the REAL robot builders and lashing out like little children....
..as evident by their supporters in this very thread.
It's a toy dinosaur robot for crying out loud... Albeit a cute one. But nonetheless a robot. His toy broke your toy. Get over it, oversensitive people.
I'd be damned if he have "Robots' rights activists" rioting over a Pleo's oblivion at the hands of a remote-controlled lawnmower called 'Vicious Verdict'. If any animal rights activists complain, buzz me. I'd seriously have to reassess my sanity.
It's a toy dinosaur robot for crying out loud... Albeit a cute one. But nonetheless a robot. His toy broke your toy. Get over it, oversensitive people.
I'd be damned if we have "Robots' rights activists" rioting over a Pleo's oblivion at the hands of a remote-controlled lawnmower called 'Vicious Verdict'. If any animal rights activists complain, buzz me. I'd seriously have to reassess my sanity.
Buzz me too if Engadget finally decides to give it's comment system a facelift by adding an EDIT feature.
The Ugobe engineers will be working day and night to bring us Pleo 2.0 - constructed from titanium alloy, and with more aggressive AI.
In "kill" mode, it uses its facial recognition software to recognize triangular shapes with two wheels and proceeds to unload several thousand rounds of whoop ass, followed by a stomping and then crushing by mechanical pincer of the target.
....
If only Ugobe thought as I do...
I wonder if UGOBE would have shown the same shock and horror if there were a Teddy Ruxpin destroyed in the ring.
or a Furby, even...
OMG, my Pleos ARE my pets. A partner with life-long pet allergies makes for an ideal place for Pleos as pets, although there are many other reasons. I see many skeptics making comments. It was very difficult for me to even look at this photo! Although some of the comments did make me laugh. He's not a toy, though. Emotional bonds form very quickly...for those who wish to have emotional bonds with an artificially intelligent entity.
I heard about the Pleo abuse on Letterman too. woe is me.