US company launches interactive toy in UAE

Dubai: Ugobe, an American company, has given new meaning to the notion of 'pet' by introducing Pleo - a robotic toy dinosaur with the capability to show emotion - in the UAE.

Pleo can interact with human beings and has the advantage of having a much longer life span compared to a normal pet.

Pleo, released around Christmas time last year in the US, is the much enhanced successor of Furby, the robotic toy launched almost 10 years ago that netted a staggering $1.2 billion in sales.

Pleo, with the behaviour pattern of a one-week old, is a camarasaurus dinosaur engineered to behave like a living creature. It is completely independent and does not have to be manipulated with a remote control.

Thirty-eight sensors in its body allow Pleo to see, hear and feel. The toy 'pet' has 2,000 moving parts, which respond accordingly to the sensors and six processors - capable of six million calculations per second - and 14 motors.

After activation, Pleo develops through three phases, of hatching, juvenile, adolescence. Some of its characteristics through the stages are stretching, chewing, exploring its surroundings and then finally, responding to interaction with human beings with emotions of excitement, anger, happiness and sadness.

A person's treatment of Pleo will define its development and personality. Every Pleo will be unique based on its experience with emotions caused by human interaction.

Pleo's local availability so soon after its release in the US and Japan could boost awareness about artificial intelligence in the UAE.

"This is artificial intelligence at its peak. A robot that senses, reacts, reasons and even follows the very natural concept of evolution," said Rizwan Ashraf, CEO of I Robo, the company bringing Pleo to the Gulf.

Pleo can be plugged to a computer to download extra features and owners can participate in a range of activities on pleoworld.com.

"Pleo is supposed to be for children over eight, but also those over 20 will love it," said Ashraf, explaining how there is so much a person can do with their robotic interactive pet.

"Every so often, a product comes along that just changes the game. The iPhone. The Segway... get ready to add the Pleo to that list," said reviewers in the American tech industry.

With Pleo, Ugobe has pulled of the unprecedented creation that makes you think it's a living thing, according to reviewer.

Have your say
Would you prefer a live pet or a robotic pet? Share your views with us.

I would love to have a robotic pet than a live one because it is less harmful.
Sanoop
Abu dhabi,UAE
Posted: February 16, 2008, 11:34

I would love to have a robotic pet than a live one. Something that can interact in a funny way would be good.
Jazee
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 16, 2008, 09:49