RoboSapien

RoboSapien is a toy-like biomorphic robot designed by Mark Tilden and produced by WowWee toys. Released in 2004, the Robosapien is preprogrammed with moves, and also can be controlled by an infrared remote control included or by a PDA.[1] The product sold over 1.5 million units between April and December 2004,[2] and was named "Toy of the Year" by the Toy Retailers Association.[3]

RoboSapien
Inventor(s)Mark Tilden
CompanyWowWee
SloganA Fusion of Technology and Personality
Official website

Overview

The toy is capable of a walking motion without recourse to wheels within its feet. It can grasp objects with either of its hands, and throw grasped objects. It has a small loudspeaker unit, which can broadcast several different vocalizations. The robot uses seven motors, and maintains balance by using "two trianges", one inverted above the over.[4] As the lower part of the body leans to one side, balance is maintained by titling the upper half to match.[4]

The robot's remote control unit has a total of 21 different buttons. With the help of two shift buttons, a total of 67 different robot-executable commands are accessible.[5]

Other uses

Germany Openen 2005 tournament two teams of three Robosapiens each played the first Soccer match of humanoid robots worldwide. University of Osnabrück played against a team from Albert Ludwig's University of Freiburg. Replacing the head by a PDA allowed the robot to perceive its environment with a camera, a control program could then react to this via the PDA's infrared sender.

Other research involving RoboSapien includes using it to model the behaviour of humanoid robots in dangerous manufacturing environments.[6]

Variants

In addition to the white/black color scheme, Robosapien also came in chrome red, blue, silver with blue eyes, gold, green, pink, and transparent.

In January 2007, two new Robosapien variants were introduced, styled after Spider-Man and Homer Simpson. The "Spidersapien" features Spider-Man styled armor, and an array of Spider-Man sound effects.[7] "Homersapien" was similarly adapted with sound bites and a sculpted Homer head.[8]

Specifications
  • Length: 31.75 cm (12.50 in)
  • Height: 34.3 cm (13.5 in)
  • Width: 15 cm (5.9 in)
  • Weight: 2.27 kg (5.0 lb)

Film
Main article: Robosapien: Rebooted

A CGI/live action film produced by Avi Arad named Robosapien: Rebooted was being produced in 2008 and was released in 2013.[9]

See also

References
  1. "WowWee Robosapien X". wowwee.com. Retrieved 2018-02-21.
  2. "Wow Wee's Robosapien Beliches Its Way To Success", (December 19, 2004). Miami Herald.
  3. "Toy of the Year 1965-2007 - Toy Retailers Association". www.toyretailersassociation.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  4. "Barbie, meet your burping nightmare; Profile", (December 19, 2004) Sunday Times, NI Syndication Limited.
  5. "HighTechScience.org's Robosapien V1 Robot". www.hightechscience.org. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  6. Stopforth, R. & Bright G. (2014) "Robosapien Robot used to Model Humanoid Interaction to Perform tasks in Dangerous Manufacturing Environments", 27th International Conference on CADCAM, Robotics and Factories of the Future: Materials Science and Engineering, 65. DOI:10.1088/1757-899X/65/1/012022
  7. "Gadgets Of The Week", (May 21, 2007). Birmingham Mail. p36.
  8. Estridge, Bonnie (July 19, 2008) "Return of the Robots", The Express on Sunday, London, England. pp11-12.
  9. "'Robosapien' parts assembled", by Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter, April 7, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
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