Like the Rovio, the WowWee Spyball spy camera will let you live out some James Bond fantasies. Or at the very least snap some upskirt pics. The tiny remote controlled robotic ball features built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and gets around on sleek wheels, capable of smooth mobility and quick 360-degree turns.
It can also transform from a ball to a camera and back within seconds, and it does it’s job quietly, so you can sneak around and get some dirt on people. The blackmail will follow. Another cool feature is that when it’s connected to a home network, the Spyball can be controlled remotely via the Internet.
I love it’s menacing death star type look. It looks like it has just spotted you and is about to take you out with a laser.
As always, WowWee has some new robots up it’s sleeve at this year’s CES. They look interesting as ever and we can’t wait to play with them. What I like about their robots is that they actually infuse them with some personality.
In this case, Joebot is the large guy. A dancing rhythm robot that responds to beats. He’s the life of the party. The Roborover explorer on the other hand, starts out shy and gets bolder over time. I love the design on these guys. Full press release below. Read the rest of this entry »
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.
When WowWee’s Rovio was first announced we all knew it would be a popular platform for modders. The three-wheeled remote WiFi camera-bot has been available for a few weeks, and the first hacks are now coming in. Rudolph at RoboCommunity has taken it upon himself to add some LED lights to the webcam.
Rovio already has headlights which you can remotely switch on and off, but if you’re peering upward into the darkness then they’re less effective then if you are just looking at the floor. Rudolph’s hack fits two bright white LEDs to either side of the camera lens, wired in with the original lights so they can be switched on and off at command.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that WowWee has done it again with Mr. Personality. The latest includes an LCD face and enough jokes to keep you entertained on a desert island. Max and Simon, this bot’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are said to be “well developed and play off each other perfectly.” Like I said about Tri-Bot, the reviewers noted that the omnidirectional wheels were “incredible,” the remote “simple and intuitive” and the sensor array was also impressive. Hit the link for more. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that we’ll be able to get review units on this guy and Rovio, to give you our own impressions.
Sure WowWee is making our dreams come true by delivering a bunch of quality bots, but let’s not forget they’re also using robotics bring other dreams to life. Like flying robotic fairies. Their latest stroke of genius is the $39.99 FlyTech Tinker Bell. It could actually posses that same spirited flight habits of the Disney character, and it comes complete with a flower wand remote. She can fly for 4-minutes on an 18-minute charge, and her “crash-resistant materials” should help keep your things unbroken.
A little under a year ago, the Robodance software enabled robot lovers everywhere to control the awesomely tiny i-SOBOT with a Nintendo Wiimote. And now, ou can do the same the same with WowWee’s Rovio. Yep. You can command the latest and coolest robotic sentry as easily as you play Zelda. Easier actually. You can also customize button assignments to suit your needs. Surely an awesome bot on it’s own, this makes Rovio that much cooler. Let’s hope they send me a review unit real soon.
I wish I could say that I’ve never met a bot I didn’t like, but I’ve actually met several I don’t like. Thankfully Tri-Bot is one awesome robot, with a ton of nice features packed into his compact form. You’ve all seen him in various videos and pictures, but I have to say, this bot is twice as awesome in person. He’s a wise-cracking and highly energetic bot, which might make him seem like he would be annoying, but trust me, his personality will win you over as soon as you take him out of the box. Read on for the full experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Kids love stuffed animals. Some adults too. In fact, many kids and older geeks have beds full of stuffed animals. It used to be that the closest you could come to owning a robotic animal was to buy one of those stuffed toys that would walk a few steps, bark, then power down. They weren’t cute, they weren’t lovable and you put them aside for good after like fifteen minutes.
The new WowWee Alive series will have kids hugging and sleeping and petting them for a good long time. I had a chance recently to get some hands on time with WowWee’s Panda Cub so I knew I would need a kid to see exactly how cool it was. So I employed said kid and shoved it into his little arms. I wasn’t sure if it would get better treatment then a regular stuffed animal or not. Long story short, it’s a hit with the kids. As I watched them playing with it and saw their amazed eyes alight at the fact that the Panda actually responds to them, I also was won over. The kids would not give it back and again, long story short, I was beat up by children and it made me cry at one point. I called my mom but she wouldn’t help. Basically, kids love it and you will never see it again. Read the rest of this entry »
Like the Rovio, the WowWee Spyball spy camera will let you live out some James Bond fantasies. Or at the very least snap some upskirt pics. The tiny remote controlled robotic ball features built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and gets around on sleek wheels, capable of smooth mobility and quick 360-degree turns.
