Gizmodo
Ugobe's Pleo is the latest "electronic pet" to hit the consumer market, and as such, has received plenty of attention from media and consumers. At $350, Pleo is more expensive than a Furby but cheaper than an AIBO. After spending the last few days toying around with Pleo, as well watching it interact with real flesh-n-blood pets, my verdict is that Pleo is a neat piece of tech, but a bit too expensive and limited for mainstream popularity.
Pleo's endo skeleton has embedded motors in its legs, tail and neck that give it realistic movements. The bottoms of its feet have pressure sensors to detect when it's on the ground or in the air. It also has two mics that serve as ears, two speakers, light sensors in its nose and mouth, and touch sensors placed all over its body. It also has an SD card slot and a mini-USB port for future functionality upgrades. These motors, sensors and ports combine to make Pleo pleasantly interactive.
Out of the box, Pleo "evolves" through various stages of life. For the first 10 minutes it just sat there, curled up. I realized it was waiting for me to interact with it. As I pet it, it woke up and moved into the next stage of life—adolescence. It was a quick puberty: this phase took 30 to 45 minutes, during which Pleo started to make more noises, react to my petting, and even play tug of war by chomping on its toy leaf (included!). How I interacted with Pleo in this stage determined how its personality evolved in its final stage—pet it alot, and it will always look for you to pet it later on. Ignore it, and it will roam freely, less concerned with what you're doing. I opted to give it plenty of attention, and as a result it now always reacts favorably to my, uh, loving caresses.
The way Pleo reacts to touching is incredibly realistic, as it conforms its body depending where and how you touch it. Pleo also reacts to noise, and can hear you when you talk to it. It's ability to emote (well, to simulate emotion) is also hauntingly realistic. The combination of body, eye and mouth movement, along with the sounds it produces, makes you wonder if the Pleo really can feel things.
However, I have my gripes. Though Ugobe was ambitious in trying to make Pleo into a creature that learns, feels and has a personality, I expected more from the end result. While Pleo is great to play with on a tactile level, I question its ability to explore and learn.
Aside from that, my main complaint is that Pleo doesn't move well on most of the surfaces I placed him on. The bottoms of Pleo's feet are made with a plastic that lack grip, meaning Pleo slips and looks like it's walking in place. The surface it movedbest on was a low-pile, office-style, carpet. But even on that Pleo only moved a few feet at most.
I can't help but feel this lack of movement hinders the experience of allowing Pleo to roam around the living room, or learn tricks, such as the "come" command. After awhile, trying to get Pleo to do anything that didn't involve petting it felt laborious and unintuitive, similar to teaching a Furby how to speak.
The Pleo is also noisy. To get the effect of lifelike movement, it had to be jam-packed with motors that make a lot of noise. As a result, the C3PO-like noises are distracting, and serve as a constant reminder that Pleo is a ball of machinery.
That said, I had fun playing with Pleo. While its flaws make it hard to justify the price, I wouldn't call it cheap or ill-conceived. It's a bit too expensive to make a true splash in the consumer market, but it's a great start. An upgraded model will most certainly fix 1.0's limitations, but this is a solid first step for Ugobe, and like the Pleo itself, those first steps are often the hardest.
Comments
Look Charlie....it's a magical Leoplurodon....he has told us the way! We're going on an adventuuuuure.
doggie!!!
Does it "emote" appropriately when it's dumbass mishandler tries to get it to frighten a proper dog (not some pussies masquerading as Goldens, Labs and Terriers) and it gets ripped apart. Just wondering.
video? (serious one)
Does it emote properly if it's burnt into a pile of dust, because it seems like a pile of dust wouldn't emote very well.
@shoelessone: On a similar note, I've tried...held...back, but...never wanted to hear it said more.....
Will. It. ...No. I can't do it.
@92BuickLeSabre: Thank you for withholding your outburst.
Upon further review, judging by the location of USB port, this Pleo is female.
@92BuickLeSabre: @gokor:
you guys are sick.
what are you going to call your new robo-beastiality fetish?
@ANoel: robo-beastiality perhaps. I dunno, I think you just coined it. I was simply pointing out its sex.
As lame as it sounds, I would love to have a robotic pet. I really would like to have a real dog or cat, but live in an apartment and so a real one is out of the question. I'm gone too much for it to be happy, and the whole pooping and peeing thing.
But, robotic pets just don't seem anywhere near functional enough to have. I'm sure within my lifetime robots will progress to that point though (i'm 23).
Do you guys have experience with both the AIBO and the Pleo? If so which one is better price not withstanding?
@adamgamble: ...
Open the door, get on the floor.
Everybody walk the dinosaur.
...
Will it bitch at night for it to get attention?
Will it says.. (im Dead) when it dies?
Will it Play Nintendo Wii with me?
Will it Hack in to My Mac Pro and iphone?
Will it call my chicks. ?
i need to know....
Re: "Though Ugobe was ambitious in trying to make Pleo into a creature that learns, feels and has a personality, I expected more from the end result. While Pleo is great to play with on a tactile level, I question its ability to explore and learn."
Ugobe has stated privately in E-mails to their customers that are on their update newsletter, and publicly in other press items, that the main adaptive personality code was left out temporarily so that Pleo could be shipped by the holidays. Soon in 2008, there will be a free downloadable software update for all Pleo owners on Ugobe's user community site, Pleo World. It will have the previously promised adaptive personality. Hopefully you will revisit your opinion on this important facet of Pleo's personality when the update comes out.
I have a Pleo (several) and even in its current state before the software/firmware upgrade, it's behavior is still wonderfully unpredictable, varied, and interesting. There is nothing close to it in terms of lifelike motion that immediately inspires people to bond with Pleo. Whatever you may think of the Pleo videos on the Internet, the one universal thread that runs through all of them is that people can't resist petting and interacting with him/her!
Note I don't work for Ugobe, ShiftComm, or Pleo World or anybody else related to them. I just really love Pleo.
Did you try tickling his feet? :)
@roschler:
"I just really love Pleo"
I bet your Mum doesn't read this..
@92BuickLeSabre:Ok, someone has to say it, and apparently it's going to be me. Will it blend?™
Pricey & not mainstream? Well, over 10,000 have already been pre-sold at $350, and they're going for over $500 on Ebay. Walmart has taken down its online sales until supply can meet demand. But you can still wait in line until mid-January at Amazon and Sharper Image. What was your point? What price do "YOU" think is right to make it sell better?
@roschler: you have SEVERAL Pleos?!? Could you use a butler or other servant, because I sure would like to work for a rich dude.
@ANoel: you are a moron... In the video of the pleo and dogs... the dogs were wagging their tails... I don't know if you have ever had a dog but when my dogs are frightened they tuck their tails under their legs not wag them...
it is pretty obvious by the look on the lab's face that it wasnt frightened ( I have had 3)
@teqsun.com:
The Rotties I bred and raised and trained in Schutzhund for more than 12 years also when excited would wag their tails. They would grin and bark, and be fairly bouncy trying to get the padded agitator to make a move. It was fun for them. It was their job and they loved it. Labs and Retrievers are also working class dogs. BANG! Leap into the water swim, shake, pickup duck, swim back, drop duck at handler's feet, get a treat. I love real dogs. GFYS.
@ANoel: Awesomely unsubtly subtle my friend.
I wonder if Pleo responds to abuse as well? Such as cowering under an outstretched hand, or biting , even? The talk of Robo-bestiality set my mind of on this sort of tangent....that and I watched The Girl Next Door (2007) this morning *shudde r*
@ANoel:
ugh... if you have such a big problem with the treatment of those dogs why dont you take it up with the spca.
@teqsun.com:
Just so you're straight on my response to this clip, I said:
BY ANOEL AT 12/10/07 01:51 PM
"Not even very funny - makes everyone including the dogs look retarded."
The clip demeans all concerned AND it's not funny.
I stand by that and as I said before, GFYS.
@roschler: What happens when Ugobe sends upgrades to your Ple-hos and they evolve into brutal omnivores that will Jurassically eat you limb from limb in your sleep?
Not so cute anymore, huh?
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