Pleo is a robot toy modeled after a dinosaur believed to have lived during the late Jurassic period. The toy is manufactured by Ugobe Labs, a company based in Emeryville, California that specializes in the design and manufacture of lifelike robots. Pleo is intended for use by adults and children nine years of age or older.

Camarasauraus could grow to 60 feet in length and weigh more than 15 tons. Pleo, on the other hand, is scaled-down to roughly the size of a small iguana or a large tropical gecko, although -- unlike a lizard -- Pleo is equipped with numerous sensors and servos.

Here's an overview of Pleo:

• A camera in the nose provides machine vision .
• Audio transducer s allow the machine to respond to sounds and utter lifelike noises.
• Several internal motors produce realistic movements.
• Multiple microprocessor s deal with the input from the sensors, control the robot's motions and provide a moderate level of AI (artificial intelligence).
• A flash memory card slot lets the user program Pleo with various "personalities."
• A USB (Universal Serial Bus) port allows the user to download "personalities" from an online site.
• The user can create custom traits with a "personality editor."

As one aspect of Pleo's AI capacity, the machine can learn from the user or from other Pleo robots and can use information about interactions to guide its future behavior.

10 Mar 2008