12/6/2007

Here’s “Pleo” getting stroked by actress Kaori Manabe at the Japanese launch of this “emotional” toy robot modeled after a two-week-old camarasaurus.

Pleo Robo-Dinosaur
—’a Ugobe Life Form’

Note that despite the plastic appearance of both posing in the photo above, only the one on the left is an artificial life form of Ugobe Corporation. However, Pleo might be more fun on a date as seen in the video below.

The soap opera of poor Pleo coming to the market is sort of an industry joke. Ugobe Corp. make huge splashy announcements for this toy for Christmas 2006. However, as you can see on this web listing, now the company is only saying they “should” be able to deliver by December 24 on their Amazon.com listing.

Also note that sweet Pleo is not cheap—the initial 2006 price was to be $199 but now it’s $350. And if you think that price is a real smack, check out this robot cruelty—-A robo-smacking video of “How much punishment can a robot dinosaur take? (Warning: This video is not safe for those with a heart.)