http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czHKEXwHOoI
Get a cool programmable robot for $996 . Is it cool or uncool?
A next gen artificial life form!!
One of the best humanoids on the planet!!!
A robot friend? Can talk, sense, think (only a bit) on its
own!!! All for 383$
Gone are the days of GI Joe and He-Man figures. Enter the realm of robot toys.
These are not just TOYs. They are companions, teachers and entertainers.
How would like a dinosaur as a companion ?The Ugobe's Pleo for example, they brand it not as a toy or a robot, but as an artificial life form. Even the OS which runs inside it is called the LifeOS. It needs food, it needs sleep and it needs caring. It learns as it grows (not in size). It expresses happiness when it is pet, it shows indifference when ignored, looks tired when hungry and above all doesnt dirty the house like a biological pet :P
Consider the Robonova how do you teach it different moves?? Just connect it to your PC, run the support software and start twisting and turning its limbs (not so much that they come off, remember it costs 999$) . All the actions are recorded and fed back to its controller and voila it repeats everything verbatim... Use it to teach, mechanics , control systems and biology as well!!
What is it that is so special about these toys?
Is it because they are mobile , is it their resemblance to human form or is it something else?
What I vote for is the interactive experience that is shared between the child and the product. These so called "Toys" aim to develop an affinity to technology. They plan to Excite, Educate and Entertain.
And obviously who doesnt like to be in control. Be it a RC car or your life, everyone loves to be in control. Imagine imparting, life or intelligence to an otherwise stationary thing. The chance to create something always opens up your think tank.
Do these seem expensive ?? Would you trust a kid to use these?? Not waiting for an answer here... theres another consumer that the companies are looking at. It is the techie hobbyist, a techie father or the geek who finds it egotistically fulfilling to CONTROL something.
A look abroad and you'll see the kind of potential this market holds. The average age of a robot hobbyist or a roboteer in Japan is in the mid thirties. No wonder Japanese markets are flooded with robot toys. Robots have always been a crux of Japanese Innovation, primarily driven by the low workforce present in Japan.
Whether it would be a hit in India or not is a question that remains to be answered, but for now I would be more than happy if someone gifts me one of these ;)
