Skip to Content

Are you prepared for Wrath of the Lich King? WoW Insider has you covered!
AOL Tech

Posts with tag ugobe

UGOBE "shocked and appalled" by destruction of Pleo at Maker Faire

by Donald Melanson, posted May 9th 2008 at 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]

Pleo communes with nature, woos Dolphins

by Darren Murph, posted May 9th 2008 at 10:54AM


After an absolutely heart-wrenching video of Pleo being annihilated by a sadistic ComBot emerged yesterday, we're thrilled to add a little balance to the whole thing with a totally heartwarming clip today. Down at Sea World, Pleo was politely introduced to a number of animals in the park, though its interactions with the dolphins were particularly special. In the vid posted after the jump, you can go ahead and fast-forward to around the two minute mark -- there you'll find the true definition of a stud. Or maybe the pod just thinks miniature dinosaurs look extraordinarily tasty.

[Thanks, Robert]

Continue reading Pleo communes with nature, woos Dolphins

Pleo gets thoroughly obliterated by demented ComBot

by Darren Murph, posted May 8th 2008 at 1:14PM


It's not that we've never seen the insides of Pleo, it's that we've never seen it splayed so inhumanely. During Maker Faire 2008, a middleweight ComBot known as Vicious Verdict was placed in the ring with UGOBE's cuddly dinosaur, and suffice it to say, Pleo didn't stand a chance. The entire death lasts about three minutes, but there's a solid minute of taunting that goes on before the ComBot starts the decimation process. Straight up, this is one of the more haunting things we've ever seen happen to a poor, helpless, animated robot. Vid's after the break for your sickos who dare.

[Via Tech Digest]

Continue reading Pleo gets thoroughly obliterated by demented ComBot

Pleo finally learns to sit with Life OS 1.1

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 31st 2008 at 9:58PM


Although Pleo just got upgraded to v1.0.2 earlier this month, UGOBE is taking the Life OS to 1.1 and adding a laundry list of features to boot. Initially available for install only through an SD card (download via USB should hit within a few weeks), the update enables your favorite dino pet to sit, sing a variety of melodies, call for attention, get sick (coughing / sneezing) and change attitudes based on how much attention it gets. As these things always go, there's also the promise of a few unannounced inclusions ("strange habits," as it were), and it should be noted that previous downloads -- Holiday, Love-struck, MySkit, Yapt, etc. -- will need to eventually be re-downloaded in new versions to be compatible with the Life OS 1.1 update. Give the read link some attention to check out the changes, and fire up the download while you're over there.

[Thanks, Caaahl]

Pleo gets older, wiser with Life OS 1.0.2

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 5th 2008 at 12:56AM


If Pleo's holiday behavior mode left you thirsty for more, chances are the first bona fide update to its Life OS won't disappoint. Version 1.0.2 enables your dino to explore its surroundings more, engage in fits of singing when encountering groups, and hear erratic noises when sleeping softly. Of note, UGOBE promises the update won't change your Pleo's existing personality, so apparently, there's nothing to lose (but more spare time). Go on, hit up the read link and start that download -- right after you tell Pleo to expect a treat, of course.

Pleo's holiday behavior mode now available for download

by Ryan Block, posted Dec 21st 2007 at 3:24PM

Ah, if only all behavior modification of pets, children, and certain unruly celebutantes (you know who you are) were as easy as Pleo's new downloadable "Holiday Pleo" behavior mode. It's about a meg and will run straight off an SD card, so get your dino-ho-ho on -- that is, if you're lucky enough to even have one of these things.

[Thanks, Jared C]

Pleo unboxing, er, hatching -- photos and video

by Ryan Block, posted Dec 3rd 2007 at 7:11PM Featured Story


Hard to believe it's been almost two years since Ugobe's Pleo was first announced, but today one of our very own showed up at our doorstep, sweet as a newborn (new-hatched?) Camarasaurus. Pleo's certainly undergone a lot of physical changes since we saw it in the early days, now sporting a more adorable shape (as well as cameras and sensors studded all over its precious little head). A few first impressions and fresh details
  • Pleo's skin is rubbery-sticky (a little like the soles on a brand new pair of Cons). We can totally see this thing feeling like a dinosaur.
  • The motors on this thing are loud. Like, kind of distractingly loud. Yet somehow it remains ineffably adorable. You just want to take care of the little bugger.
  • You hatch it early on by flipping its power switch and petting it until it awakens from its deep, late-Jurassic-era slumber.
  • Jury's still out on the Tim Allen-esque grunting noises.
  • Ugobe PR let us know that the first version of Life OS (the software that powers Pleo) isn't really set up to "evolve" as it was supposed to, but there will be new versions of Live OS in 2008, which will enable behavioral optimizations and that "evolution" thing.
  • There will be an SDK! Take that, Aibo. Poor, poor Aibo, dead as a dino--never mind.
  • Despite having a massive, heavy NiMH battery pack, it's only 2200mAh;
We're still letting Pleo get situated and acquainted (read: charge) but we've got a hands-on gallery below, and video and plenty more Pleo details after the break. So, who's down for a quick refresher on chaos theory?

Gallery: Pleo unboxing, er, hatching -- photos and video

Continue reading Pleo unboxing, er, hatching -- photos and video

UGOBE's Pleo enters production, software updates already promised

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 6th 2007 at 5:25PM


With just weeks to go until Americans everywhere lose their minds in the holiday shopping rush, UGOBE is announcing that its long (long) awaited Pleo is finally hitting the production line. Furthermore, the company insists that those who pre-ordered the dinobot directly from UGOBE will receive a 30-day shipment notification "before Thanksgiving," and those who placed their order with "any US retailer" will have their new toy before December 25th. In case that's not enough to win back your heart, you can also look forward to a revamped website next month that will allow owners to download a "surprise mode" for their creature. Speaking of downloads, those wondering if this thing really will be able to "learn and develop a unique personality based on how it is raised" can anticipate "free software updates" aimed at enabling that feature (and possibly others) sometime next year. Hang tight kiddos, Pleos are being hatched as we speak.

Ugobe announces Pleo delay, cut in production by 50%

by Ryan Block, posted Sep 11th 2007 at 10:00AM


Bad news for the cuddly adorable dino-robot hopeful in the audience, Ugobe is announcing yet another Pleo delay today, this time due to a battery issue. Not only will Pleo hatch another month late (from October into late November), Ugobe is also estimating some 50% drop in the initially planned population of Pleos, thanks to the current design's internal battery temperature safety cutoff, which has the undesirable side effect of preventing a full charge. Ugobe is moving the battery charging off-board in order to ensure owners expecting an hour of Pleo play time won't wind up with 30 or 45 minutes, but this comes at the expense of time and killing off half the initial Pleo population. Fortunately, those who pre-ordered Pleos should be in the clear getting their dinobot, but the holiday scarcity issue is a little scary for the rest of us who didn't account for the possibility of yet another jacked-up eBay Christmas.

Hands-on with Pleo the dinobot

by Evan Blass, posted Aug 7th 2007 at 8:07PM


Watch out Mark Tilden, we have witnessed the future, and your family of robotic creatures is about to get totally shown up -- for a pretty steep price, of course. By now you're probably well aware of the heir to the robotoy throne that we're referring to, Ugobe's $350 Pleo dinobot (or life form, as they like to call it) dropping November 1st. Well we finally got a little face time with this sensor-laden blast from the past, and we're happy to report that the frustrating delays our Jurassic pal has suffered seem to be well worth it, as the model we saw behaved and performed almost flawlessly. Interestingly enough, although the components are quite tough (as evidenced when our demonstrator violently snapped its back and legs with no ill effects), Pleo's tactile rubber skin and puppy-like cuteness tend to make people treat it much gentler than necessary. Still, considering that these will ship with a completely hackable OS, we're sure that there will be no shortage of baby dino snuff films up on YouTube in no time. For more, um, appropriate viewing matter, check out the gallery below, and then hit the jump to watch three of these little guys do their best impression of a Budweiser commercial...

Gallery: Hands-on with Pleo the dinobot

Continue reading Hands-on with Pleo the dinobot

Ugobe defines its own Three Laws, dooms us all to future of robot oppression

by Ryan Block, posted Aug 4th 2007 at 7:39AM


You know, as anxious as we all are about our prospective (nay, inevitable) collective future as meatbags oppressed by some human-created supreme artificial intelligence, at least Isaac Asimov's (and to a lesser extent, Isaac Hayesimov's) Three Laws helped us sleep at night. So thanks a lot, Ugobe, for throwing those comforting laws right out the window and defining your own Three Laws of Ugobe Life Forms (as follows).
  • A (robot) life form must feel and convey emotions
  • A (robot) life form must be aware of itself and its environment
  • A (robot) life form must learn, develop, evolve over time
Great, wonderful, you basically just gave robots a blueprint for the foundation of the enslavement of the human race. While you're at it, why don't you guys just build up a trojan horse to get things going? We're thinking some cutesy, totally harmless looking character-bot every kid in the world absolutely must have, because if we wanted to overthrow civilization, that's totally the -- oh, wait.

[Via Robots Rule]

UGOBE's Pleo stock all dried up

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 27th 2007 at 2:18AM


After the months on end of waiting anxiously for UGOBE to actually announce that the Pleo was more than a very lovable piece of vaporware, you'll now be forced to seek other vendors or wait even longer before receiving one of your own. Nary a month after pre-orders went live here in the US, UGOBE is now stating that it is all sold out of its own cash cow dino. Regrettably, we've no idea how long it'll be before the next batch hatches, but if yours is currently on backorder, give us a heads-up when the line starts rolling again, wouldya?

[Thanks, Robert]

Pleo ready for US pre-order: $349 for your eventual destruction

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 21st 2007 at 8:01AM Breaking News


Check it US Pleo hopefuls, UGOBE is now taking pre-orders for the hotly anticipated dinobot. The price? Well, it's not $250, or even $300 as we were originally told. Rather, the cuddly killer is now pegged at $349. Pre-orders can be executed directly from the UGOBE website or via the usual array of on-line retail partners. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a few months before your Pleo can "inspire mystery and awe as a companion" -- it doesn't ship until October. Plenty of time to ponder the threat of inviting a robot and dinosaur into your home. Now head on over to Pleoworld for plenty of hot, groaning, dino-on-dino action.

[Thanks, Vladimiro]

Read -- Press Release [warning: PDF]
Read -- Pleoworld [warning: moaning robots, crank down the volume]

Ugobe's Pleo packaging unveiled, battery now replaceable

by Darren Murph, posted May 23rd 2007 at 6:36AM


Unfortunately, we don't have any surefire news that Ugobe's long-awaited Pleo is actually any closer to shipping, but considering that a design has apparently been decided upon for the packaging, we'll take that as a hint. Ugobe's founder Caleb Chung was quoted as saying that the "photos on the box are nearly life size and are designed to convey the wonderful range of expression and organic movement of which Pleo is capable," and continued on in order to mention that the final version of the dino would sport a battery that's both rechargeable and replaceable. Lastly, he threw in yet another phrase of confidence that the device was "getting really close" to actually launching, but considering the false alarms we've seen in the past, we're not banking on anything until this bad boy invades a few homes.

UGOBE delays the Pleo again, adds new sounds and sensor

by Paul Miller, posted Feb 1st 2007 at 5:39PM


We won't go so far as to call this thing vaporware: there's clearly an uber-cute, finger-biting robot in the works here (and that new press shot to prove it!), but our confidence has been shaken by this latest Pleo delay. UGOBE, which was claiming until recently that it would begin taking orders of some sort in March, with a price of roughly $250, has just announced that it's going to be releasing the bot in the summer of 2007 for about $300. To blame for the delays are new improvements based on test user interactions, including a brand new chin sensor -- sensor number 35 for anyone keeping track -- because that seems to be a touching favorite. Pleo is also getting better and louder speakers and an increased number of sounds for "fostering an emotional connection." Finally, UGOBE is brushing up the looks, with better sculpting in the hard plastic parts and more detailed eyes, along with adding muscle-like tissue under the skin to enhance the feel. You can't fault UGOBE for trying to make this thing perfect, we just wish they'd make it perfect a little sooner already. Peep a couple new shots of Pleo after the break.

Continue reading UGOBE delays the Pleo again, adds new sounds and sensor




Weblogs, Inc. Network

AOL News

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Joystiq
Download Squad
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
BloggingStocks
Xbox 360 Fanboy
Autoblog