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The top tech gifts of holidays past
Remember the mad rush to secure a Teddy Ruxpin under the tree? Or how about how badly you begged your parents for the Nintendo DS as a year-end treat? As we head into another hectic, yet hopeful holiday season, we look back at some of the geeky gadgets and technological toys that stormed the charts (and stole young hearts) over the years.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: WowWee CTO Davin Sufer
More robots? Don't mind if we do. Davin Sufer is the CTO of WowWee, the company behind toys like Robosapien and Roboraptor. He'll be joining us on stage to discuss what the company has up its sleeve. January 8, 2014 7:00:00 PM EST
Brainlink lets you control your toy robots, Roombas, before they control you (video)
Let's be frank for a minute -- we need to gain control of our robots before they get control of us, so why not start with the robots you've already got taking up space on your shelves at home? At this year's Maker Faire in New York, BirdBrain Technologies showcased a way to hijack your toy robots, Roombas and other bits of home electronics: the Brainlink System. The forthcoming little triangle hooks up to your existing technology, letting you program commands, add sensors to the device and generally teach it new tricks. The company's chief robot designer, Tom Lauwers, showcased the technology on a Robosapien, a TV and a Roomba, the latter of which you can see in the video after the break.%Gallery-134202%
Vadersapien has little to do with Darth, much to do with a troubled childhood
Our favorite robot-obsessed entity on these fine internets, RobotsRules, has put out a fairly disturbing video entitled "Vadersapien" as a purported followup to last year's "Elmosapien." What at first might be perceived as a harmless way to enjoy halloween with robots and bit of Vadery goodness quickly devolves into the dark exploration of a mind turned sour by the constant companionship of robots. We're positive [insert name of favorite sci-fi novelist] tried to warn us of this day, but there's really no preparing for a product of so much psychological disruption. It's after the break, of course.
'The Shining' gets remade with WowWee bots, cybernetically invades your soul
All work and no play makes Robosapien a dull bot. All work and no play makes Robosapien a dull bot. All work and n0 play makes R0b0sapien a dull bot. All w0rk and no play makes R0101ap1en a dull b0t. A11 w0rk a1d n0 play m01es R0101ap1en a dull b0t. A11 101k 11d n0 p10y m01es R010101e0 a d011 b0t. 011 1011 11d n0 p10y m011s 0010101e0 a d011 b0t. 011 1011 110 10 p10y 1011s 0010101e0 1 d011 b0t. 011 1011 110 10 1100 10110 001010110 1 1011 001.
WowWee's Femisapien gets detailed, demonstrated on video
Don't deny it -- you blush a little each time you see that image above. If you're secretly eager to learn all that you can about Femisapien and her gracious ways, Robots Rule has the goods. Expectedly, this gal is said to have "the most fluid movements of the WowWee family," and while we won't emphatically agree that including "her own language consisting of emotive sounds" is quite fitting... well, you committed fellows in the house know what's up. The $99 robot is said to be on track for a late summer release, but considering that you just can't wait until then to see her in action, head on past the break for a honest-to-goodness fencing demonstration. There's more where that one came from in the read link, too.[Via SlashGear]
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Robot of the Year
Now's your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Portable Media Device of the Year! Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Sunday, April 15th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: Cornell's "conscious", adapting robot, Lego Mindstorms NXT, Manoi AT01, TMX Tickle Me Elmo, Whitebox Robotics 914 PC Bot, and Wowwee Robosapien RS Media. %Poll-259%
CoilOsapien Robosapien mod explained
As promised when he first unveiled this formidable feat of miniature mayhem, Marcus of Evosapien.com has now provided a step-by-step guide for turning your own Robosapien into the most badass one on the block. While there seems to be less of a chance of complete disaster than the Flamosapien mod posed, you'll likely still want to be sure you know what you're doing before busting out the hot glue gun. Those with the necessary skills, however, should be able to follow along relatively easily, with all the necessary parts readily available and relatively inexpensive. Just remember to sleep with one eye open once you're done with it, ok?[Via Hack a Day]
WowWee announces Robosapien: the movie
It's not exactly coming soon, but WowWee has announced plans for a Robosapien feature film, teaming with Arad Productions with the intention bringing the movie to theaters in 2009. Details are unfortunately pretty scarce at the moment, although it will apparently combine live-action and CGI, and promises to "translate Robosapien's lifelike characteristics and endearing personality into a compelling and entertaining story." Frankly, however, we can't imagine it possibly being any more compelling or entertaining than the potential film depicted in our humble suggestion above.
WowWee robots invade McDonald's Happy Meals
WowWee's robot empire has seen some frighteningly rapid growth since the first Robosapien rolled off the assembly line, but it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down, with pint-sized versions of a number of the company's bots now making their way into McDonald's Happy Meals. While the king has sadly been left out, starting today you can get a Walking Robosapien, Roaring Roboraptor, Talking Robosapien V2, Running Roboreptile, Walking Robopet, Chomping Roboraptor, or Stand-Up Robosapien with the purchase of a Happy Meal. Those less interested in fostering the inevitable robot uprising can opt for a My Little Pony toy instead. Of course, all of the bots are decidedly less capable than their pricier counterparts, although we doubt that'll stop some of you from trying to mod them anyway. Check out the gallery below for a better look at 'em.[Via RoboCommunity]%Gallery-1775%
CoilOsapien Robosapien mod impresses, terrifies
The Robosapien would seem to already be quite capable of defending itself, what with a flamethrower and all, but the folks at Evosapien.com don't seem to be willing to take any chances, upping the otherwise peace-loving bot's arsenal with a BB-shooting "coilgun" capable of taking out other toys all the way across the room. As the video after the break shows, the gun also comes complete with a laser sight to help guide those BBs to their target with deadly accuracy, as Gumby sadly found out first-hand. While we'll have to be content with enjoying it from afar for the time being, rest assured, the mad genius behind this weapon of miniature destruction is promising a complete tutorial for building your own shortly.[Thanks, Robert O.]
Wowwee's Spidersapien caught on tape, slings webs
All these videos of Wowwee's quickly-growing lineup of must-have robots has got us quite envious, but still, it's better to see these things caught on tape than never at all, right? One of the firm's first licensed superheros is none other than Spidey himself, and the Spidersapien was able to take a moment from his heroic day to show its stuff for TechDigest. The bot is actually quite different than just a Robosapien with a fancy paint job, as his mannerisms, gait, built-in voice blurbs, and abilities are all straight from the Spider-Man vault. So go on, click through for the live action video of Spidersapien calling out the baddies, waddling about, and of course, slinging that unmistakable web, and start saving now for when these land this summer.
Wowwee Robosapien RS Media gets reviewed
Although it seems like we've been seeing an awful lot of Wowwee's robotic zoo of late, the kind folks over at TechCast actually gave their Robosapien RS Media a bit more than 15 seconds of YouTube fame, and have thrown down a relatively thorough review on whether this intriguing creature is worth your hard earned dollars (or pounds). After calming down from the excitement reviewers felt when just opening the box, a careful look at the "impressive spec list" revealed that this bot was actually quite a good value considering the list of accomplishments (and possibilities) this guy holds. As the name implies, this Robosapien has a flair for media, and in that department it did quite well, but the poor fellow's inability to walk with any sort of haste was a slight buzz kill. Interestingly, it was noted that the robot has the potential to either floor new owners or terrify youngsters, and although we can't assume that his experience will mimic everyone's, he found that the amazingly high fun-factor quickly wore off, and deemed it a novelty at best. However, for the younger crowd, it was insinuated that the RS Media has the ability to charm and sucker them into programming early on, suggesting that age probably plays a huge role in whether or not you'll get your money's worth on this one. Nevertheless, the bot must have resorted to the sad puppy dog face in the end, as it still earned the TechCast Recommended Award, so be sure to hit the read link for the full rundown of impressions and a live action video to boot.
Wowwee cashes in with new Spidersapien and Homersapien
As much personality and flame-throwing capability as your Robosapien might have, there's just no denying that he's a total square compared to some sexy Hollywood personality like Spider-Man or Homer Simpson. That's why we're guessing the new Spidersapien (the original name for Roboquad, if you'll remember) and Homersapien bots from Wowwee -- rebadges of Wowwee's flagship bot -- are going to do quite well for themselves, especially since Homer will be launching alongside The Simpsons Movie in July, and Spider-Man will be hitting shelves this spring to coincide with Spider-Man 3. Along with looking a bit like their respective on-screen counterparts, both robots mimic their inspirations, with Homersapien shouting a "Doh!" or three, and Spidersapien quoting Spider-Man phrases and pretending to shoot webs, complete with sound effects. No word on price, but you know you want one anyways, don't try and deny it. Peep Homer after the break.
WowWee: snakes, dragonflies, and bears -- oh my!
And now, back to Wowgadget's comprehensive coverage of all things WowWee. The tricky Robosapien folks chose not to display some of their hottest bots at CES Unveiled -- probably because they won't be released in the US for the forseeable future -- but we managed to sweet talk them into hooking us up with some images and a few deets about this unannounced swag. First up is Robopanda, a Teddy Ruxpin-like doll for tots four-and-up that sports "many advanced sensors" along with a head-mounted IR sensor and stereo sound. Besides the usual back-and-forth we enjoy with WowWee's products, 'panda also reads bedtime stories (we hear that it's fond of Bearinstein Bears), interacts with a MiniMe version of itself, and of course, delivers mad bear hugs to love-starved tykes. Also on the docket is Roboboa (we like "Roboa" better, but whatevs), a companion snakebot that performs the varied functions of "smart desk light, wake-up alarm, room guard, disco marquee, roving tank, safety light and playful cannon." Hey, we've always wanted a toy like that! Snakey will be available somewhere in the world, sometime this year for $119, while the roboteddy is expected to retail for $229. Check out the gallery for pics of both of these fine new additions to the robotic zoo, along with a few images of the RS Media, Dragonfly, and that Roboquad spiderbot we saw yesterday... WowWee: snakes, dragonflies, and bears -- oh my!
Program your Robosapien with new Go-Robo software
Q4 Technologies, a software company previously known for its gridmagic art package, is working on software to control Wowwee devices. Go-Robo, currently in beta, allows users to write commands for their Robosapien or similar device using either a graphical "building block" interface -- for novices -- or by employing GRIDscript, which is a proprietary programming language for advanced users. As it stands, the software allows you to control up six robots simultaneously via a user-supplied IR transmitter; hardly enough for you to wage that robotic uprising you've been planning, but it's a start. The full version is expected to be available by spring time next year.[Via Robot Gossip]
Wowwee's FlyTech Dragonfly in action
While the Robosapien, Roboreptile, and basically all of Wowwee's gizmos demand an (understandable) level of respect, the FlyTech Dragonfly (quite literally) takes this "robotic toy" gig to another level. While the FCC got its paws on the fluttering animal not too long ago, it now appears that citizens over at T3 got a chance to give it whirl, and the results are indeed impressive. Relying on "brute flapping-power to remain airborne," this creature reportedly worked "amazingly well," and the rechargeable battery pack will purportedly keep it in flight for "around 15 minutes." Although the bug should draw a crowd at next month's CES, there's no need to wait around to get a sneak peek at what this tombo is capable of, as the kind folks at T3 are delivering a hands-on video (after the break) to make us all green with envy.
D2E Robotics to offer programmable bot this October
Korean start-up D2E Robotics looks to be aiming to take down WowWee's RoboSapien (ED-209-style) with its upcoming programmable robot, the decidedly less-catchily-named D2V-ZN. Set to retail for close to $750 US when it launches this October, the one-foot-tall programmable mech comes loaded with a built-in camera and will recognize voice commands.. While it's certainly a bit pricey to start with, the company says the price should come down to a more reasonable 300,000 Won, or just over $300US, once/if the robot starts selling in large quantities (emphasis on if). Either way, we're guessing it's going to be a Korea-only thing for a while yet, meaning you'll still have to pay quite a premium to actually get your mitts on one. Unless you're Omni Consumer Products, in which case you probably already own thousands.
Make your Robosapien into a Flamosapien
We're not entirely sure it jibes with the guide to robot ethics, but there's no denying that the flamethrower add-on is one of the most impressive Robosapien hacks we've ever seen. The folks at Evosapien.com must've sensed our enthusiasm, because they posted a step-by-step tutorial showing how the potentially home destroying bot was built. Because of the incredible risk involved, we don't recommend anyone actually build their own, but we encourage you to read along as a barbecue lighter and some cheap electronic parts transform an otherwise friendly robot into the ultimate enemy of eyebrows. Just hope some overzealous enthusiast doesn't teach his Lego brained bot to read internet tutorials, as that could be very bad for humankind as we know it.
Robosapien RS Media gets new Lego Mindstorm NXT brain
If you're looking to delve a little deeper into the world of robotics, but don't exactly have the time or soldering skills to build your own, you'll be glad to know that you'll be able to hack away at your lovable Robosapien RS Media using Lego's Mindstorm NXT system. Thanks to Robosapien designer Mark Tilden's affinity for Lego, the Mindstorm brain fits perfectly into the bot's backpack, allowing you to program a host of new movements into its already robust and customizable repertoire. We suggest you start with something easy like dancing then move your way up to teaching your Robo to destroy the evil imposter, Robone. The source link goes on to mention a few other interesting projects being worked on at Wowwee headquarters, including a four-foot, Segway wheel toting Robosapien model with voice technology and an internet connection, as well as a robotic spider and dragonfly. It all sounds very exciting to us, and we, for one, would like to welcome our new robot overlords (beat you to it).
