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.

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