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TOMY i-SOBOT Robot Certified by Guinness (Video)

During a joint Takara/Tomy and Sanyo press event in Osaka earlier today it was revealed that Guinness has officially certified the i-SOBOT humanoid robot as "The smallest humanoid robot in production."

The tiny, yet fully functional, robot stands only 165 mm (6.5 inches) tall and features 17 custom designed servos that allow it to achieve performance, movement, and flexibility of other humanoid robots that typically retail for a $1,000 or more. In contrast, the i-SOBOT is expected to go on sale in the US and Japan this October at a list price of approximately $350.

i-SOBOT was developed for optimum performance and play time using the Sanyo Eneloop rechargable batteries, though it can use other rechargeables or even standard alkaline batteries.

  i-SOBOT was literally walking on air today when it heard about the certification from Guinness!

To give you a quick feel for why everyone is so excited about i-SOBOT, we put together this brief video clip showing just two of its 180+ preprogrammed actions-

Most other humanoid robot manufacturers use the term 'motions' or 'motion sequences' but Tomy prefers 'actions' because i-SOBOT not only moves, it also speaks and plays background music/sound effects at the same time. It's a"real 'piece of work."

Posted by Lem on July 6, 2007 | Permalink | Email this post

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Will you be able to program it?

Posted by: Robo Dude XXX | Jul 7, 2007 9:54:10 AM

Robo Dude,

You asked:
> Will you be able to program it?

Yes, and no.

It has a program mode where you can create long sequences that can include any of the robots actions. So you can make it kick, then scratch its head, then turn right, then say something funny, then ... so on. It has approxiamately 182 different actions built-in, so you can put together some really complex 'programs'.

Update: Also, you can program in any actions that you can do with the joysticks. For example, some of the program memory blocks can be used for user defined actions like "7 steps backward" or "point right arm" etc. These user defined actions can be intermixed with the pre-programmed actions.

The program mode doesn't have any branching or control capability, and there's no feedback from the robot (at least in the initial version). It's a simple sequencer - which is fine for a robot at this level and price point.

And, at least for this version, there is no catch & play or control over individual servos like you find in the $1,000+ robot kits.

That being said, there are some interesting possibilities we're currently investigating that might allow for more complex program like behaviors.

Posted by: Tempusmaster | Jul 7, 2007 10:05:54 AM

For some reason amazon never shipped mine even after they said they had them in stock. I canceled my order and got mine from fatbraintoys. Shipped it to me in 2 days! So, if you're still waiting, look elseware. They're out there now. I have mine!

Posted by: AlphA | Oct 25, 2007 12:19:02 AM

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