Dinosaur with a future?

Pleo has two built-in microphones for hearing, a camera for detecting motion and sensors under his skin to tell him when you’re petting him. In his belly are a USB port and an SD card slot, in case you want to load him up with the latest software posted online by his creators or by other Pleo enthusiasts and programmers.

Pleo, sold for $350 by California start-up Ugobe, has been the subject of fascination in the geek community ever since it made a preview appearance at the prestigious Demo technology conference in 2006. Most early owners, like Townend, who works as a tech security guy in Washington, signed up months ago to buy one of the first batch, which just started shipping.

It’s too early to know whether the Pleo will become a hit and a household name, said Silicon Valley tech pundit Paul Saffo. But, he assures, robots are on the way. “Robots are the next big thing, plain as day,” he said. “I’ll hand in my forecaster’s licence if I’m wrong.”

In the ’80s, technology’s big advance was the development of the affordable home computer, says Saffo. In the ‘90s, it was the Web, which networked all those computers. Today, with all the input mechanisms we’re already plugging into our computers—microphones, speakers, Webcams and so on—it’s just a matter of time until somebody puts some legs or wheels on the whole shebang and figures out a compelling product. The robotic equivalent of the iPod, say. “All the pieces are there, they’re just waiting to be connected by the right entrepreneur—some Steve Jobs able to figure out just what people want,” said Saffo.

This isn’t the consumer tech industry’s first shot at the robo-pet. Sony tried these waters years ago, with a $2,500 robot doggy launched in 1999 called the Aibo; the company eventually pulled the plug on it.

To build an online community for the device, Ugobe has put together a Web site for the Pleo, where owners can compare notes or start blogs (“plogs” here) devoted to their robot pals. One Pleo parent notes that she caught her pet playing with its shadow. Stories of Pleos interacting with Roombas—those robotic vacuum cleaners—abound.

Ugobe is courting fans and encouraging their creativity in ways that Sony did not. It’s planning to release a software kit that will allow owners to easily create new Pleo behaviours. To get things rolling, the company has created a couple of software programs: one has the Pleo barking out holiday songs, another puts the robot in “watchdog” mode, where it barks and growls in response to any noise or motion.

I wondered whether my dog would meet the Pleo, which does not require early morning trips to the back yard. But she had no interest in the Pleo at all from the start. A few days later, I’m a little underwhelmed with the Pleo, too. Cute? Oh, yes. But the Pleo doesn’t come when he’s called, and he doesn’t quite have the brains to chase after the plastic leaf that you’re supposed to periodically “feed” to him. The whirring of his 14 internal motors and gears is just loud enough to remind you that it isn’t flesh and blood.

Most of my gadgets get smarter on a regular basis, thanks to the magic of downloadable software updates. Ugobe plans to release a big update for the Pleo’s software early next year, and I get the feeling that a lot more of the Pleo’s capabilities will come to the surface then. (Or perhaps that’s when the robot endgame will kick in…)
-mike musgrove (LAT-WP)