Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I'm pretty much a complete noob when it comes to camera stuff. My wife loves to take pictures, though. So much so that she literally wore out her first point and shoot camera, and the Kodak Z712 I bought for her less than two years ago is starting to act up as well. To compound the matter, we are expecting our first born sometime next year. I fear the Kodak just isn't going to cut it any longer. What would be the best starter DSLR to get? She hates missing photo opportunities due to camera 'lag' so speed would definitely be at the top of the list. Photo quality and features would be next. Price should be no more than $800. I'm not interested in video capabilities."
We are actually developing Echo to be more than just a dating robot - we want it to connect all sorts of people who might discover a common interest. After living in Boston for several years, we grew frustrated with the urban isolation we experienced after trying to strike up conversations in parks and on trains; our hope for Echo is that people will start interacting more with the people around them. Think of it as something like a physical implementation of social networking.
The cute bear just happened to be our first prototype. The actual product's form is only limited by the imagination, and we have a few other form factors (not just stuffed animals, either) in progress in the lab right now.
Echo Robotics was developed at Olin College of Engineering as a submission for an international design competition, and we are in the process of developing the technological and business aspects of the device right now. If you want to learn more or talk to us, check out http://www.echorobotics.com or email us at echo (at) echorobotics (dot) com; we'd love to hear from you.