Gizmodo: wow wee

WowWee Rovio, Everything the Aibo Should Be

Mark Wilson — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:58:17 EST

WowWee, makers of such fine products as cat-hunting dragonflies, have unveiled a new, fairly badass three-wheeling robot for home use that's not all the different from the specs we've seen in Sony's new rumored AIBO. A webcam-enabled robot featuring a Northstar GPS system, you can spy on anyone in your house from anywhere in the world.

Syncing with your PC via Wi-Fi, WowWee sees users controlling the Rovio through the internet, cellphones, and yes, even game consoles. What's really promising is that instead of just navigating through your hallways via arm-mounted webcam, you can set waypoints (aka bathrooms) within your house and send your ~~evil minion~~ Rovio there with the click of a button.

The Rovio can also roam your house autonomously, recharging itself at a station ala Roomba. And while LEDs will illuminate your dark, cavernous home with ease, WowWee hasn't gone so far as to offer a decent laser cannon to ward off that prick you inevitably catch boinking your wife.

(On an unrelated note, honey, I may be in Vegas, but I see everything. And I mean everything.

My Cat Vs. The Dragonfly, The Battle to End All Battles

Mark Wilson — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:02:02 EST

Let me give you a little background on my cat. She may look innocent, and on many accounts she is. But there are grown men in this world who fear her, as if she is a full-grown lion prepared to maim those who do not refill her water dish with the proper alacrity. (To be fair, half of that description is true).

So when I received my review unit Wow Wee/Flytech R/C Dragonfly, I knew just who to test it on. Surely Anya (my cat) would be leaping through the air, clawing with maximum kitten power to destroy this home intruder. The subtle flapping of wings would be too much for her to resist, and besides, the unit comes with a replacement pair.

So what happened?

In short, Anya was traumatized. She ran from the room and would have nothing to do with the toy from then on. (And caught the typo...it's there forever now).

As for the Dragonfly, in the five minutes I've spent with my unit (that came out wrong but I refuse to rephrase myself), I haven't gotten it to fly properly. Given other reviews out there, I'm sure it's user error. But also given that I was once a strong R/C car enthusiast, I'm shocked at my ineptitude.

And cool feature to note: the Dragonfly is charged directly from the remote control in about 20 minutes for a reported 7 minutes of flight. It's a good idea, be it presumably heavy on AA usage. – Mark Wilson

Robosapien Caught Cross-Dressing as Spidey and Homer

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:55:57 EST

Looks like our favorite hackable robot is going under the knife again. Not content with his previous body, Robosapien is getting a Spider-Man makeover along with the ability to make web-shooting noises and speak with a Spidey-friendly vocab. Also in the works is a Homersapien who will come with a sculpted Homer head and long list of Homer-isms. No word on pricing, but we expect both of them to be as hackable as their predecessors (and hopefully content with their newfound identities). – Louis Ramirez

Robosapien Becomes Spidersapien and Homersapien [Pocket Lint]

Wow Wee: Dragonfly Video

Mark Wilson — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:06:03 EST

We've been pretty excited about the R/C Dragonfly from Wow Wee, makers of the Robosapien. Then T3 got their hands on one and posted this video. Verdict was as expected: fun, potentially dangerous (translation: even more fun). They say the steering is "dead easy", but the clips don't tell the same tale. Maybe the left and right steering is tight, but the altitude is tough to control?

Now if only that office were full of jaded employees with mediocre health benefits, we'd really have something to watch. – Mark Wilson

Dragonfly Robot [neatorama]