PleoRb
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Pleo bares it all for FCC approval
Poor Pleo. Everyone fell in love with the little green dino at first sight, but no one actually bought the thing. Undaunted, the adorable fleshy robot made a triumphant return at this year's CES as Pleo RB (that's "Reborn"), with the help of adopted manufacturer Innvo Labs. The newly invigorated 'bot brings voice recognition, more sensors, and RFID-based command learning technology to the table. With all its new gear in place, Pleo was poked, prodded, and peeled by the FCC, revealing, among other things, that new RFID reader in its chin. The results are gruesome and not recommended for faint of heart robot dinosaur lovers. You've been warned. %Gallery-123937%
Pleo RB cuddles up to CES, we go hands-on and talk to Innvo about future Pleos
The folks behind the Pleo robot dinosaur didn't have much but promises and a giant, not-for-sale version of the bot at last year's CES, but Innvo Labs has come through this year. They have a number of their new Pleo RB dinos on hand, and we got a chance to both check them out and talk to Innvo COO Derek Dotson about what the future might hold for the robot dinosaur that refused to die. As for the current Pleo RB, while it may look relatively unchanged from before, it does boast some fairly impressive improvements, including voice recognition (with any language), more touch sensors, the ability to sense temperatures, RFID-based "learning stone technology" for feeding and other advanced commands, and time of day awareness. As you might be able to surmise, the combination of those latter two means that the Pleo will get slow and lethargic if you don't take care of it, but Innvo assures us that it won't actually die (just make you incredibly sad). It sounds like we could be seeing some even bigger changes in future generations of Pleo, though. Innvo tells us that they've basically pushed the current design to the limit, and they seem to be keeping all options on the table for future models. We asked about different versions, internet-connectedness, and even a Roomba-like ability to recharge itself, and Dotson said that Innvo considering all of those, but that it doesn't want to rush and do anything that would dilute the Pleo brand. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look at the Pleo RB, and head on past the break for a video. %Gallery-113464%
Pleo RB robosaur now on sale for $469, Christmas now cleared to take place
Worried that your holiday celebrations just wouldn't be able to take place without an autonomous robotic dinosaur roaming the halls and frightening the grandparents? Fret no more. With under a fortnight to go, Innvo Labs has managed to put the revitalized Pleo RB (Pleo Reborn, if you must know) on sale, with a stiff $469 getting you a newborn dinosaur with a Li-Polymer battery, a charging cradle and a training leaf. Yeah, a training leaf. Unfortunately, the MSRP here is a fair bit higher than the $350 that Ugobe charged for the original, but at least the price premium does include a tougher hide, a newfangled RFID sensing system and a stronger, longer-lasting battery. And really, who could say no to a smile like that?
Pleo Reborn detailed by Innvo CEO, one lucky fan finds and buys the tiny dino (video)
Innvo Labs wasn't sharing a single detail about its new Pleo at CES last year, but the company's being a bit more forthcoming now -- not only did CEO Derek Dotson grant the baby dino community a lengthy interview detailing most every improvement last week, but its Hong Kong parent is apparently already selling the robot abroad. It's called the Pleo Reborn (or "RB" for short) and the primary features are these: a lithium-polymer battery good for two hours of continuous use, a much tougher hide, and an RFID "sense of smell" that lets it interact with a variety of optional accessories to "eat," take medicine for virtual injuries and learn new tricks as you go. The little creature's also got four additional touch sensors, a temperature sensor, a gravity sensor and an internal clock to tell the time of day, improved motors, and basic voice recognition -- and the Hong Kong packaging suggests the dinos will even come in two different sexes. User marcimarc444 claims to have paid roughly $500 for the one pictured above at the Hong Kong Electronic Show, and though we don't have US pricing or availability at this point, the CEO did suggest that "very, very limited" quantities would be available later this month. Find the full interview and a testimonial at the links below, and watch the Pleo RB in action right after the break. [Thanks, Michael W.]
