It's Dino Time!
The idea of bringing home a one week old Camarasaurus, easily recognizable for its spoon-shaped teeth, brought to mind a Godzilla-like feeding rampage. But much like that Spielbergian vision AI, it was quite evident that this designer species was different from usual suspects like the wow wee fly or the robosapien. For one, it’s actually quite cute, cuddly and very unrobotic. A replacement for a pet? The initiation process sure makes you think so. Charge up, plug in the battery, and Pleo’s first few moments are tentative, to say the least, as the infant familiarizes itself with the world. 10 minutes later, Pleo was moving around, and close to 45 minutes on, walking and exploring the space around it. The plastic base on the feet meant a few slippery moments, but soon enough Pleo was up standing and roaming around. This critter sure loves cuddling, a special favorite being the chin scratch, to which it just moans with delight. And yep, like most infants, it nods off quite a fair bit too. Interestingly enough, reduce all sound around you, speak to Pleo and she’ll turn and look you straight in the eye. Sure, so it doesn’t exactly stand up and twirl or shoot lasers, but like any real pet, patience is key here, and this fella loves attention, hangs its head sadly when you ignore or raise your voice at her, and just cuddles up near your feet while you sit down to work.  Real or robo, you just can’t ignore that.

ugobe pleo 
LOVE Cuddly form, responsive sensors, evolving behavior
Hate Slippery plastic feet, low battery life

4 stars

WE say The robots are truly ready
Weight 1.59 Kg

Moving parts 2,000 moving parts
Sensors 38 sensors that detect light, sound and motion
Processors 6, capable of 6 million calculations per second
Motors 14
Ports SD card slot and mini-USB port 
Extras IR technology allowing Pleos to interact with each other; Downloads of new emotions and responses.