Ugobe's new robot pets

PHOENIX--Furby inventor Caleb Chung has launched his next big thing (he hopes): The Ugobe Pleo, a cat-size robotic dinosaur designed to operate as a pet. In other words, no remote control (does your cat have a remote?). The gadget has a ton of sensors so it can react to your voice and being carried or petted, and it has been programmed with very natural movements and the capability to learn from your interactions with it. It's like the now-gone Aibo, but one-tenth the price. I got a preview of this company a few days ago and wrote a column on Ugobe for Release 1.0.

Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe.

Topics:

Share:: Digg; Del.icio.us; Reddit; Facebook

Recent posts from News Blog: Nvidia puts NForce chipset development on hold; Opera 10 browser is here; Neil Young Archives Blu-ray: Rip off?; Acronis revises survey results about backup habits; Acronis miscalculates data on users' bad backup habits; Flickr co-founder presses beta button; Comcast, Sony open retail store; Cox to try coaxing the Internet into submission

Related: Ropid the robot can walk, run, and hop; Robot skis downhill, slaloms into your heart; Audio Slideshow: NASA Marscape; Can you read your robot's emotional state?; Military looks for better touch with PacBots; SnackBot: Polite host, research platform, vending machine; Winking robot nav head knows where you're going; Ninety-foot drop can't stop robot cockroach

About News Blog

Recent posts on technology, trends, and more.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right

Deep Tech
Intel hires antitrust expert as new top lawyer
A. Douglas Melamed will become Intel's new general counsel this month, a source says. His extensive antitrust experience includes five years at the Justice Department.
Gallery
New Manhattan Apple store on the Upper West Side--photos
Signal Strength
Apple banks on retail stores
Apple's latest store in Manhattan is part of a bigger plan to win new customers through its retail strategy.
Beyond Binary
Microsoft to schools: Share a PC
The software maker is working on a new option that will let will let multiple students work off a single PC, each with their own screen, mouse, and keyboard.
Video
Exploratorium's shocking 40th anniversary kicks off
Technically Incorrect
Convicted murderer sues Wikipedia under privacy law
A German man convicted of murdering an actor sues online encyclopedia under privacy law he claims prevents his name being mentioned in connection with the murder.
Video
A new workout for the Wii
Geek Gestalt
Video game sales fall off a ledge in October
With total industry sales down 19 percent from a year earlier, things are looking bleak as the holiday season gets under way.
Health Tech
Cough into your cell phone, not your sleeve
Software being developed by Star Analytical Services may soon enable cell phone users to record their coughs and diagnose a cold, flu, or something else.
Gallery
Images: iPhone games graphics showdown
Gadgettes, the blog
Gadgettes 162: The Swank Pad Episode
We are here to help you swankify your domicile. Now, all you need to do is shell out a gazillion dollars and you're golden.
Green Tech
DOE technologist handicaps impact of carbon price
Steven Koonin, the Department of Energy's undersecretary for science, projects which energy technologies win out when there's a price on carbon emissions.