Pleo the robotic dinosaur proves to be a star attraction at the CeBIT annual computer expo in Germany.
Pleo was designed by its creators, the Californian company Ugobe, to emulate the appearance and behaviour of a week-old infant Camerasaurus. It's being marketed as a household pet.
Helen Long reports from the CeBIT fair in Hannover, Germany.
It hails from the Jurassic period but there's nothing remotely prehistoric about this robotic baby dinosaur. Even to call it a robot is somewhat misleading, say its designers Ugobe Life Forms. Pleo, a lovable one week Camerasaurus has something other robots don't have: a personality. And that, says Ugobe's Martin Hitch makes Pleo different.
MARTIN HITCH, UGOBE, saying:
"A lot of the robots that we've seen before have been controlled by remote control which gives the user a lot of command on what it does. Pleo is completely autonomous; he'll make his own decisions, he'll decide what he's gonna do and how he's gonna react to how you interact with him."
No two Pleos are the same, though one Pleo can recognise another. Each grows through three phases, from hatchling to infant and finally juvenile, all in the space of an hour. Pleo thrives on attention, emitting happy grunts and snuggling up, though hold him by his tail and he's less amused. Give him a cuddle and all is forgiven. Within seconds he's snoring away contentedly in your arms. Beneath his rubbery skin Pleo is crammed with clever technology: there's close to two thousand parts, more than a hundred gears, fourteen motors and a complex sensory network for detecting touch and an infrared camera-based vision system. But the real magic that brings Pleo to life is the unit's life operating system.
MARTIN HITCH, UGOBE, saying:
"And that's one of the main differences between robots we've seen on the marketplace to date and something like Pleo that seems very much alive and it's the life OS software that really helps it interact and react to the way that he's treated."
A hackable operating system, allowing other users to create programmes that can be downloaded directly into Pleo's underbelly via a USB port and a memory card slot. New programmes are being developed that will enhance Pleo's personality, including voice recognition. But is it really possible to bond with a robot? Unlike a dog Pleo won't rush to greet you at the door, similarly it won't curl up on your lap like a cat. Sold as a companion robot, Pleo is more cute than cuddly. If only he were available in fur, though fake of course.
HELEN LONG, REUTERS CORRESPONDENT,saying
"The evolution of this new specie of life form robotics is still very much in its infancy, the field has seen plenty of disappointments along the way, Sony's Aibo being a case in point but it seems that at last a new generation of sentient robots is taking its first few baby steps toward a future where's man's best friend may not be his dog. Household pets, you've been warned. I'm Helen Long, Reuters correspondent at the CeBIT technology fair in Hannover."
