Romo iPhone robot to charm his way into your heart in June
Over the past few years, TUAW has featured several posts about a cute little robot with an iPhone for a brain, Romo. It was first featured on TUAW sister site Engadget's Insert Coin feature series in late 2011, and was successful in its original Kickstarter funding round. Last fall, Romo's creators, Romotive, went back to the Kickstarter well to fund a newer, updated model of the little robot that could. That round was also successful, and now Romo (US$149.00) is available for pre-order on the company's website for delivery in June.
The newer model is faster, has a tilting "head' so he can follow your movements, and works with an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S or fourth-generation iPod touch as his brain. Any other iOS device can control him, so Romo's the perfect place to reuse a previous-generation iPhone or iPod touch if you want to get a new one. There's a telepresence mode that works with the iPhone 4S and is useful if you want others to be able to control Romo remotely for work or play.
If you missed any of the earlier info about Romo, here's a TED Talk video featuring Romotive founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo introducing Romo to a crowd as well as a promotional video from the company's website. We're attempting to get a visit from Romo for a full TUAW review in the near future.
