Robosapien V2 by Wowwee 2006
" Heres Lookin at you kid" Robosapien has better animated eyes that change with mood and status of your Robot. As you can see there are IR ( infrared) Sensors on his head as well as a camera. The video camera is limited to 640x480 so he not going to substitute for a Camera.
The Robosapien V2 is a terrible bowler, though we do have to give him credit for trying. What's more, he's clumsy and a boor, full of wisecracks and disgusting bodily noises that you'd usually expect to hear from a wise-guy adolescent. As a robot, however, the Robosapien V2 is a noble and mostly successful attempt at reimagining one of the last year's most popular robot toys.
When WowWee's Robosapien V1 burst onto the scene roughly two years ago, he wasn't that impressive. He, too, had the gross noises down pat, but that was coupled with a lurching, stiff-limbed gait and precious few interactive capabilities. But he cost just $99 and managed to capture the hearts and minds of millions of American consumers.
This year, WowWee's Roboraptor has supplanted the Robosapien as the must-have robot toy of the year. It's expertly designed and priced right at $129. In its new incarnation, the Robosapien V2 will not wrest that crown from the Roboraptor—although I believe that's by design.
At $250, the Robosapien V2 has more than doubled in price and nearly in size over its predecessor. Fortunately, its capabilities have grown as well. This blue-eyed automaton has an almost fully articulated body and is capable of head turns, arm and shoulder bends, grasping with large robotic fingers, and bending at the waist. He still lacks knees and though he can walk at three different gaits, he won't be climbing any stairs. The Robosapien V2 also has dozens of user-controlled actions, each of which can be accessed via the multibuttoned remote. Additionally he can hear, see (though not through his luminescent eyes), feel via sensors in his hands and feet, and interact.
He can roam freely, bumping into things and then changing direction (keep him away from stairs, though). You can program him like a puppet by entering program mode and then literally moving his limbs to each position you want him to take. He'll repeat up to 12 steps, though he won't go so far as to move into a position that could cause him to fall over. You can even string together programs and subroutines to make lengthier, interactive shows. The Robosapien's sound and audio sensors can be toggled on and off via the remote, but WowWee still doesn't include a volume control, making the unit a less-than-ideal office companion.
This expressive, interactive robot's large, near-human-size, articulated hands can reach out, pick up objects, and even throw a special green bowling ball. The Robosapien V2 ships with the ball and a set of red bowling pins. If you hold the ball an inch from his face, the Robosapien will startle (he does this for anything that suddenly appears in front of him), recognize the green ball (he'll say the words), then ask for it. If you have the pins set up in his vicinity, Robosapien will find them and try to knock them over with the ball.
For all the flexibility WowWee has built into the Robosapien V2—he can even lie down and get back up—he bowls like an animated cigar-store Indian, turning only at the waist and swinging around to launch the ball in the general direction of the pins. Fred Flintstone would kick him off the team in a heartbeat. Part of the problem is that the Robosapien doesn't see all that well. You can change his vision settings for yellow (regular incandescent), white (fluorescent), and outdoor lighting. But when we switched to fluorescent, it didn't help the Robosapien see things any more clearly. He noticed things close to his face and tracked them by moving his head and body, but could also easily lose track of objects and then repeat over and over again "Where did it go?"
The Robosapien can dance, belch, pass gas, and go into guard mode, but despite having more than double the processing power of his predecessor (2.5KB RAM to V1's 128 bytes and a 4-MHz dual processor), the Robosapien still really doesn't learn. He can hold a few programs in his memory until you change the batteries, but he'll never get smarter or more cultured.
He does, however, have one other intriguing trick up his sleeve. If you also happen to own a WowWee Robopet or Roboraptor, the Robosapien can play out some scripted interaction with each of them. All we had to do was place the Roboraptor in front of the V2, turn on the Raptor, then use humanoid V2's remote to set off the Robosapien's Roboraptor control sequence. The V2 recognized the raptor ("Look at the size of that thing!") and began sending some commands that made the Raptor act like he was about to attack V2. The interaction ends with the Robosapien successfully using his robo-ministrations to tame the raptor. It's a 30-second gimmick that's fun to try, but we really wish there was more to this budding robo-friendship than just that.
At $250, the Robosapien V2 is no longer your child's favorite robot. It's intended for enthusiasts and adults with a little cash to burn. The number of things it can do will surprise you, but at this price you begin to hope for a home companion. The Robosapien V2 is many things, but he's not truly ready to keep you company or to be a reliable bowling partner.
Pictures from Pcmag.com
slideshow found at: http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,1205,l=168178&s=25141&a=167628&po=1,00.asp?p=y
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