Revenge Seeker Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 UGOBE Pleo Introduction: Many of us think Dinosaurs are extinct but that, my friends, is not the truth! And here I have evidence to support my claim! Pleo is a one-week old infant camarasaurus which would make him a herbivore. Pleo's creator is Caleb Chung, the creator of the infamous Furby. But don't let that turn you away, Pleo is nothing like that annoying little chatterbox. In fact, Look at this vid I found proving that even Pleo hate Furby and therefore can get along with any Furby hater out there easily! Perhaps the best autonomous robot pet after Aibo, well if we throw in love as a factor, Pleo beats Aibo by a mile! Pleo has been seen in magazines, online articles, and even TV talk shows! Currently available in the US and some places in Europe. Buying Pleo: For me, buying this little bundle of joy was a whole lot more hassle than I expected. It was put on pre-order at around June of 2007 and I've placed an order at Walmart ( for $349.99)as soon as I started seeing Pleo Demonstration vids on youtube of the prototype in that month. Needless to say, the waiting was dreadful (at least I had airsoft to keep me company!) Unfortunately, Pleo's expected release date of late/mid November for the "First-Hatch" buyers (buyers who ordered from the official website at a certain time get their Pleo 2 weeks before anyone else) was delayed due to battery issues. The real release was around Christmas time and when I should have had mines. Unfortunately.... WalMart cancelled my order due to it being "sold out". Right. I gave up on Pleo, the hassle wasn't worth it. But then my little sister have been bugging me about it lately so I gave in and ordered again but this time with Amazon; which took less than a week for the whole order/receive process to be completed. Not only were they fast, the price was $50 less ($299 w/ free shipping) than what I almost paid at the other place. I hold no anger against WalMart because I've heard Ugobe had problems with retailers during the release but I would highly recommend Amazon. Arrival and Box-opening: I waited all the day for the UPS truck to arrive; even skipping my daily scheduled morning study time at the University. Alas, it arrived at 12:17pm, just a little under an hour before my classes starts. The UPS guy, good friend of mines, gave me a big brown cardboard box. From reading past arrivial experiences on the net, I knew what to expect. Inside the box was yet another brown cardboard box, and inside that is the brilliantly imaged green box shown below: The box itself was pretty brilliantly designed. It took a short series of flipping and pulling to get to Pleo. Included was: "A companion guide", a leaf, USB cord, battery, charger, charger stand, and a neat looking card which I think would be used for registering my Pleo and any other online goodies for him. All shown below. Stages of Pleo: After charging the battery with its included charger for 3-4 hours, Pleo goes through 3 "life stages" for the first 30-45 minutes to get him acquainted with his new home! This could be considered a 'start-up' process for those of you technical guys who can't take a little enthusiasm now and then. Stage 1: Birth This stage takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes; depending on how much you interact with him (or her if you prefer). By "interacting", I mean petting his back, head, and his neck. The more you interact with him, the faster he grows out of this stage and into the next. In this stage, Pleo "wakes up" and does alot of stretching. He won't be able to stand up straight on all fours until the stage is complete. His movements and reaction time now are very slow but that will change quick! (before Pleo wakes up, his body is curled as if in his little imaginary egg.) Stage 2 - Hatching This is the second to last stage and has a duration of about 30-45 minutes. This is when he starts behaving as a curious little dino. He begins walking and exploring his environment. His emotions begin to express themselves and he often begs to be fed. Stage 3 - Juvenile Pleo's final stage and when my adventure begins! He begins to form his own personality depending on how you treat him. If you abuse him, he will usually be in a grumpy mood. But there's not much to do to anger him that I know of other than holding him up by his tail (which won't snap off due to ingenious design). The Three Laws of UGOBE Lifeforms: Underneath the top lid of the box is printed Three Laws of UGOBE Lifeforms. Yes this does mean they plan on making more of these so-called "life-forms", and discussion about what it might be is going on in Pleo's official forum found here: http://forums.pleoworld.com/ Link to post Share on other sites
Revenge Seeker Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Inspecting Pleo: Pleo's skin texture is really interesting, its a sort of rubber which is alot tougher than one would think. The skin can be pulled and lift Pleo off the ground with no real damage. The texture is "bumpy", like Pleo has the chicken-pocks but it really is quite nice; just not in pics taken with a 12MP camera in close-up mode. Touch Sensors everywhere! This is one amazing robot! Unlike robots of the old days like I-cybie or Furby, this one is full of sensors, not buttons. When you pet him, you do not need to exert any force. A very light stroke would be recognized. Pleo's reaction time is synchronized with a touch so as soon as you pet him, he reacts with no noticeable time delay. Very much like a living thing. This is what amazes me the most about my little Pleo. (Pic taken from here) I'm still discovering any more tricks I can do with him. I just figured out how to make him shake paws by lightly tapping any one of his 4 thighs and he will lift that leg up. Also I found out that by cupping your hands and placing it on his lower back, he will sit and eventually fall asleep if you place it there too long. Very neat I must say! Link to post Share on other sites
Revenge Seeker Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Software? I'm not very good with softwares but Pleo can, and have already been made to, be hacked to do whatever you want him to do. He also has a card slot underneath which I still have yet to explore its usage: Conclusion: Well its getting late and as much as I want to describe more and more of my latest acquisition, I'm not a robot like Pleo so I need my sleep. Something I forgot to add was Pleo has edge detection. Its rather interesting to see his expression when on the edge of a table. Ratings: Quality: 10/10 Durablility: 8/10 Range: - (as far as you can throw him; highly not recommended) FPS: wrong rating Looks: 10/10 Metal Content: idk/10 Pros: -Very innovative concept -Great substitute for anyone with problems with real live pets -Reaction time is perfect, making this unlike any robot pet ever before -Great durable skin -Very cheap for the type of technology in it Cons: -Could walk a little faster -Coloring has been officially noted by Ugobe to lighten after a while. (UGOBE's solution is to cover Pleo with baby powder) -Volume can only be adjusted "normal", "low", or "mute" (but normal is pretty appropriate for a baby Dino I would think) Good-Bye from Pleo! Link to post Share on other sites
maximus Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 you are joking arnt you?? Link to post Share on other sites
Stealthbomber Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 TBH, I've always been interested in these sort of things. I nearly bought an Aibo 2 once. Pleo (why is it still called Pleo if it's a Camerasaurus? It was supposed to be a baby Pleosaur) has been in the making for 3 or 4 years and it looked really promising at first but, unfortunately, a lot of the innovation seems to have come to very little. Originally, for example, Pleo was supposed to be totally self-contained. It would be sealed inside a silicone-rubber skin and supplied with a "nest" that could recharge it using electromagnetic pulses and transfer data wirelessly. That seems to have been ditched in favour of more basic USB connections. Also, the original spec for Pleo seemed to suggest a much higher level of "self-awareness" whereas the finishe thing just seems to have your basic collision and edge detection as well as a couple of on-board sensors. Oh, I just remembered... Originally, they threatened to sell Pleo for less than $100US. At the time I thought that was a bit optimistic but a retail price of $350US is a bit of a hike from the original target. Link to post Share on other sites
Guinness Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 What? I think it's pretty cool! Cheers Revenge for sharing! Slainte! Link to post Share on other sites
BenjaminRombough Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 that is awesome now if only i could modify it to carry a tiny AEG Not happy that UK retailers are flogging this for £250! ebay £180-£200 FTW Link to post Share on other sites
Revenge Seeker Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 you are joking arnt you?? Haha...no.. Its a fun little gadget and I think its worth every cent. Unlike Sony's AIBO which is, although very cool, way expensive ranging from $1000-2000+ USD. Thanks for kind comments. That Wassup vid was hilarious, especially when watching the second time. Stealthbomber: You sure know your Pleo facts huh? lol. Yea, I saw drawings of that "nest" that was planned for it but I guess it was just too troublesome; especially for something they want to keep the price low. I heard $199 USD in June but probably too low for profit. . So yea, Pleo's not as advanced as originally planned but still the most advanced robo-pet I've seen other than AIBO. That reminds me, I really hate the battery issue with this. I think, from my 2 charges so far, it requires 3-4 hours of charge for about 1-2 hours of play. Really frustrating. (Also have you guys checked out the Zeno Robot? Coming out in a year or 2.) Any questions I'll be happy to answer. Link to post Share on other sites
Azulsky Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 AIBO's are soo much fun though, once you know RCODE. UNO(University of New Orleans) has a grant from them and they use them for soccer games. So much fun. If only i could have a personal one. Even better would be that Sony dancing robot. I would own a whole harem of them if they would dance dance all day. Those probly make the Aibo look cheap though. Link to post Share on other sites
K3MP0 Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 you are joking arnt you?? lol. I'd rather have a dog or cat myself, failing that i guess i would get tho... 250 ?!?!?! PPPFFF! WOW... I'd spend it on a social life. Link to post Share on other sites
-Drake- Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 Very cool ! Seen these a while back but I could never get one as my dogs would completely decimate it. D= Link to post Share on other sites
darkchild130 Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 My cat would tear it apart. Darkchild Link to post Share on other sites
MDK_Marshal Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 One Word. Awwwwww!!!!! I think its kinda cute. But, then, I'm a sucker for this sort of thing. I'd love a robotic pet, but the problem is I'd probably quickly get bored of the novelty... To be perfectly fair, though, I'm still waiting for someone to make some robot goldfish. Link to post Share on other sites
IBICO Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Revenge Seeker.. still funny to play with it or did you get bored after some time? Or even.. your little sister. How long time could you have it running when fully charged? Link to post Share on other sites
Revenge Seeker Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Its not like I took this "review" seriously but since I'll forever have this in my sig for the sake of amusement, there's something interesting I just noticed today that you should know if you're actually interested in a Pleo. Yes, Pleo got old after a mere month. Its an amazing piece of technology but its not very exciting. My sister got tired of it before I did . So I've been leaving it on the shelf for the past several months and guess what I found today after taking it out for the first time ever since. Just in case someone clicks on the link in my sig and decides to get a Pleo... don't. DO NOT BUY A PLEO IF YOU VALUE MONEY. What a complete waste of money and I'm saying this in an airsoft forum where people are spending thousands on battery-operated toy rifles. Haha . The skin started to spontaneously degrade. I have to admit, the sight makes me shiver for some reason. It probably reminds me of human injuries I've seen where you can see the person's bones and whatnot. But I'll probably have to sell this soon. As if there'll be any takers... Link to post Share on other sites
Stealthbomber Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Aww, that really seems a shame to me. I actually don't mind not "using" stuff like a Pleo. It's the sort of thing you buy just to know you've got one. I'd be quite happy to have one sitting on a shelf. This is a classic example of a retailer building degradation into a product though. Why, oh why, don't they build things with the intent that it'll last "forever"? It seems they've obviously built this assuming people would break them within a few months so it's okay for the skin to degrade within a couple of years. That really IS a shame IMO. This is the sort of ground-breaking device that people should have been taking to antique dealers in 50 years or so. I did a bit of googling, looking for other reports of damaged skin, and noticed that the whole Pleo website seems to have been shut down and then resurrected by a 3rd-party. It seems that the whole Pleo phenomenon is kinda running out of steam and that's a shame. Link to post Share on other sites
Anteater Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 It's amazing that that's what we all look like on the inside. Pleo phenomenon When was this? Going the way of the furby. God wanted dinosaurs to stay extinct. Fact. Link to post Share on other sites
Jagdraben Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Why, oh why, don't they build things with the intent that it'll last "forever"? Because, as every school child knows, the built-to-last-forever quality of things constructed in the early 1900s led directly to the Great Depression. When was this? Going the way of the furby. I was unaware of this 'Pleo' thing. At least I knew about Furbies. Link to post Share on other sites
Revenge Seeker Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Because, as every school child knows, the built-to-last-forever quality of things constructed in the early 1900s led directly to the Great Depression. Oh so thats the reason.. I've always been wondering why stuff made nowadays are so fragile compared to earlier made ones. Link to post Share on other sites
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