i-SOBOT

Robert Oschler's i-SOBOT has donned some boxing gloves and started a robot Fight Club. :)

Thanks Robert for an entertaining video!

Apparently, Neiman Marcus has the i-SOBOT available NOW for $325 (+ shipping), $25 more than the pre-order price!

If you hadn't seen it, we wrote a comprehensive review of the little robot several days ago.

Updates:
• 150,000 i-SOBOTs now destined for the US!
• i-SOBOT available NOW at Neiman-Marcus Online
• Eneloop batteries will require a pre-charge in this product
• We clarified our pros and cons
• waziwazi IE bug hopefully fixed (Thanks Bill!)

Introduction:

Bah! I don't wish to read all this. Just give me the pros and cons!

Pros: Awesome fun Small: 6.5" height! 17 degrees of freedom Easy to operate 2 bands/frequencies Gyro sensor Neat Robo-One style bipedal design Smooth human-like motion Voice command mode Huge number of possible actions Hilarious actions $299

Cons: Infra-red (line-of-sight) Communication Not autonomous Cannot program/control individual servos

Hobby robotics enthusiasts have only recently been able to purchase and tinker with advanced bipedal robots such as Kondo's KHR and Hitec's Robonova. These awesomely cool robots, now a staple of the Robo-One competition, have never been popular with everyday gadget-loving consumers because of their steep cost (~$1000), complicated assembly and difficult programming requirements. A new breed of less expensive, pre-assembled and easy-to-operate robots are catching the eye of the everyday consumer. Robosapien, made by Hong Kong outfit WowWee, was one. The robot, now in its third generation as Robosapien RS, comes with a slew of entertaining features but lacks the human-like motion seen in the $1000 bipedal robots.

Video: i-SOBOT Self Introduction

Click To Play

Enter i-SOBOT, a new $299 bipedal capable of smoother, more human-like actions thanks to the 17 'joints' it is created with. i-SOBOT has been 3 years in the making in the labs of Tomy Takara, a Japanese toy company. It comes with an entertaining array of abilities: the cute little robot can walk, kick, punch, somersault, utter some 200 words and even act out ... continued

We're very excited to bring you our first robot review and even more excited because it's a hands-on review of i-SOBOT, Tomy Takara's much anticipated bipedal robot. Tomy graciously allowed waziwazi into their Southern California offices offering us a first-hand look at i-SOBOT. We have some new information about i-SOBOT's release plans, great videos, details about its features, technical (including servo) specs, planned accessories, and news about an i-SOBOT CAM. waziwazi's robot reviews will now have a home at http://waziwazi.com/reviews

The official i-SOBOT page has been updated. The Japanese pages are now visible and you can browse around to see some flash animation of the robot in action. Also, here are some fresh new press images from Tomy. As we mentioned last week, the little robot is already on pre-order.

i-SOBOT is now on pre-order at Toys 'R' Us and Amazon.com. The robot is due to be released on Oct. 25 according to the Toys 'R' Us website.

Taiwan-based GeStream Tech has created a robot (left photograph) that it claims is the world's smallest commercially available bipedal robot standing at 15cm (5.9"). Just recently, Guinness World Records officially gave this title to Tomy Takara's i-SOBOT which stands at 6.5" (pictured above right). The new Taiwanese robot which has 16 degrees of freedom is set to be unveiled a the Global SMEs in Malaysia. No details have been given about the consumer launch of the robot but it will supposedly come in a kit requiring assembly. GeStream is looking into adding voice control and producing the robot in different shapes and colors. Pricing is quoted to be between $185 and $200. See a video of a development version of GeStream's robot above. The new robot seems to lack the fluidity that i-SOBOT is seen to have in its videos, so despite the possible new entry into the small bipedal market, waziwazi is still excited as ever for little i-SOBOT's launch this October. [Update: the GeStream Tech robot is called BeRobot RD]

Ugobe's Pleo is not the only robot to look forward to these holidays. i-SOBOT, touted as the world's smallest commercial humanoid robot, will finally be available this October. Standing at just 6.5" (16cm), The little robot can operate in four modes: remote controlled mode, a programmable mode, voice-control mode, dance mode and an action mode. In the programmable mode, you will be able to instruct i-SOBOT to perform a sequence of actions. There are approximately 200 actions built into the robot such as turn left, raise leg etc. Tomy Takara, the Japanese maker of the robot, has a preliminary website up showing an English-speaking black robot and a Japanese-speaking white robot. See the video below, taken from Robots Dreams, of i-SOBOT introducing himself. ... continued