You can now get your hands on the new MechRC Humanoid Robot over at Trossen Robotics. They are the first in the United States to offer the Robot, which will cost you $599.99 USD.

It features high torque metal gear servos, LiPo batteries for longer run times, a fluid 3D visual software programming interface for easy custom motions, and a remote control unit is included. It comes with over a hundred pre-installed motions and sounds, so you can make him do some awesome things straight from the box. Check out a dance vid below.
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I’m talking about robot pets. Autonomous pets have always had a fair share of allure — probably mainly because they never eat/poop/destroyyourhome. Here at Botropolis we’ve shown you robot animals as they’ve trotted into the spotlight, but the sci-fi folks over at io9 have composed a list of 10 notable robotic pets (and billing these ten as “Robotic pets That Deserve to Live in the White House”. But who’s io9 kidding? Malia and Sasha are definitely getting a flesh-and-bone pooch.)
They’ve got the basics like DARPA’s BigDog and Pleo, of course, but there are some on the list you might not have heard of. The Mio Pup is an interactive robot dog that has sensors allowing it respond to your hours of petting. The Mio Pup is only $50, making it the least expensive bot on the list.
A couple therapy-ish petbots made it to the list: the $5,531 robotic baby harp seal Paro, and the $150 Dacky (pictured), which can do some interesting things like sing karaoke and learn 650 words in Japanese.
¥600,000 will buy you the fully-programmable BJ, a la AIBO (RIP). Others on the list can do tricks, play soccer, and take photos. As we progressively ruin the environment, it’s inevitable that one day we’ll have only robotic pets — now imagine the even more horrible effects on the leash industry.
Hopefully this has whetted your appetite for robotic pets; get your fill with the whole list and let us know if there are any robopets you’d like to see added to the list.

[io9]

Though they don’t transform, we really like Hasbro’s Mighty Muggs versions of these robots. You can get a set of 4 individually packaged figs for $49.99

[EE]

Rovio owners have always been able to control their sentry bot from their iPhone using WowWee’s browser-based interface, but someone has apparently found that not good enough, so he built his own iPhone/iPod touch app. It looks pretty neat. It gives you a larger view of the Rovio’s webcam feed and also lets you use the accelerometer to control the bot. The app is free.

[Robocommunity]

Optimouse Prime? Optimus Mouse? This Disney/Transformers turd is all set to take the money of suckers everywhere. Now in color and looking slightly better then before. Color us unimpressed.

[Toy Bender]

Robots and video games are closely tied — they both have computers as brains and they both have the potential to enrich our lives (or destroy them, depending on who you ask). And, perhaps because of their ‘puter-based nature, a love of both robots and video games marks the quintessential geek.
In a presumed plot to topple society via a collective nerdgasm, Joshua Erwin over at GotGame has tiptoed from his own realm of gaming into our robotic backyard, compiling a list of his favorite video game robots.
Though he doesn’t rank the robots, he does concede that Mega Man stands above the rest. You’ll see other familiar metallic faces on the list as well: Bomberman, Dog from Half-Life 2, Mortal Kombat robots, Robo from Chrono Trigger for SNES, and HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic.
An older list that msnbc posted about a year ago documents the “Top 5 video game robots”. This latter game robot rundown has a few the first list neglects. Namely, Chibi-Robo from its namesake Gamecube title, robots from the arcade game Berserk, and robotic turrets from Portal. Neither list mentions the Mechanicals from WOW, of which there are several sub-categories (Fel Reavers are the scariest).
When viewed with respect to the many thousands of video games in existence, it’s a shame that so few have robots in them. Even fewer sport a robotic main character. If there are any aspiring game developers amongst the readership, hark: do not hesitate to impart your fear/love of robots into your future games. A couple droids, some humanoids, and robot spiders galore will definitely aid in the betterment of your game and culture as a whole.

[GotGame]

Japanese robot maker HPI will be selling the four-legged robotic G-Dog later this month. The robot dog is powered by a 7.2V nickel metal hydride battery, features nine servomotors and is mostly made of aluminium. It’s sized at 375×135×190mm and weighs 570g. G-Dog can be controlled wirelessly via a Playstation-like joypad. He can sit up and beg, crawl and roll over to its side. Experience tells us that he probably looks cooler then he is, but we shall see.

[Crunchgear]

Oooooh, Robot Galaxy is a store, not an actual galaxy, oooooh. Based on its namesake comic book, Robot Galaxy is a toy store that lets customers create their own robots. A body here, some arms and extenders there, voila, a custom-built killing machine. It’s like Build a Bear but Build a Bot.
This isn’t to teach kids fundamentals of engineering or robotics programming, you’ll find no such brain meltery here. No, no, these robots are simply to let children (or robot-loving adults) flex their creativity.
They do have sound effects, with different sounds corresponding to different robot parts. The robot’s owner will also be able to connect it to the internet, where a virtual representation of the bot will interact with other Robot Galaxy robots online. Developers say that Robot Galaxy is more geared to boys than similar products like Webkins or Neopets.
Robot Galaxy is a small chain with only three stores — one in West Nyack, New York, one in Freehold, New Jersey, and one at the Toys R US in Times Square. With finished bots ranging in price from about $20 to $75, this doesn’t seem like a bad deal. If you’re not near any of those stores you can also make creations online at RobotGalaxy.com.

[NY1]

Cam-Babies are pretty lame. They walk when you clap, fall and cry. Other then that they wink, move their heads, and make noise. That’s about it. But they do have a great robo-baby look. If you’re into that kind of thing.

[Akihabara]

The world’s smallest toy robot just got a price cut. Originally priced at $300 when the 6.5-inch tall robot launched late last year, Hammacher Schlemmer currently has him listed at just $99.95. You’ll get 17 points of articulation, 180 pre-programmed movements and voice-control from ten different verbal prompts. The dual-joystick remote allows for direct control. Gyroscopes will keep i-SOBOT upright or, help him dance like a dancing fool.
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