Pleo Review

Pleo Review: What is Pleo?  Who made it?  How does it work?  Where can you buy Pleo and for how much?

Pleo is the latest and greatest by a man named Caleb Chung.  Chung is one of the minds behind Furby, a little furry fuzzball toy that was very popular in the holiday season of 1998.  While Chung did develop Pleo, it is made by a different company named Ugobe.

What is Pleo?  The easy answer is: a robotic dinosaur.  The more complicated answer is: an imitation of a one-week-old baby Camarasaurus in robotic form, containing artifical intelligence to allow it to learn from its environment and experiences.  This means that each Pleo will be unique in its behavior, after it has learned from its own experiences!

How does it work?  This is where the technical nitty-gritty details are.  Pleo has a plethora of tools and systems to enable it to interact with its environment.  For eyes, it uses a camera system.  For ears, it uses two microphones, one in each ear, independently operating.  For touch sensitivity, it has eight sensors, placed on its head, chin, shoulders, back, and feet.  For balance, it has a tilt sensor.  It has sensors in each joint of its body, to be able to help it move more effectively.  It has an infrared sensor in its mouth to know if anything is placed in there.  It has an infrared communications device to communicate with other Pleos.  Pleo will take SD cards or a USB connection to handle upgrades.  Pleo uses a NiMH battery that operates for about one hour and recharges in four hours.  All of these tools work together to make Pleo behave less like a robot and more like a pet kitten.  Don't believe me?  Check out the videos below!

How do you play with Pleo?  Ugobe has designed Pleo to have 3 separate "life stages".  In Stage 1, Pleo is born.  He's "hatching", so he'll open his eyes and get used to the environment.  He reacts slowly.  This takes about 5-10 minutes.  In Stage 2, he's a fresh hatchling.  This stage lasts for the rest of the first battery charge (about 45 more minutes).  He'll want food and to go for a walk, take short naps, and start showing some other behaviors.  He'll start experimenting with making sounds, and it might be fun since he'll be more "talkative" as he's learning.  Stage 3 is the final stage.  After the second full charge, he'll awaken as a juvenile.  He'll start to learn tricks and begin building his own unique personality.

Where can you buy Pleo, and for how much?  Pleo is available for purchase in the US and the UK.  The cost in the US is $349.  The cost in the UK is £299.  Check below for links to purchase Pleo today!

So what's the verdict?  Pleo looks like it's going to be a great pet for many people, and one that you only have to worry about keeping charged.  A down point is that the battery does take a long time (4 hours) to charge, and it only runs for about an hour.  But there are lots of good points.  He'll react to petting by arching his back, curling his tail, and making cute noises.  He'll gnaw on your finger, if you dare to put it in his mouth.  He'll explore and jump back in mild fear, if he walks up to a ledge and sees it's a pretty far fall.  You can even train him and teach him tricks.  Is Pleo for you?  If you want a great pet robot and are willing to pay a bit for it, then it might just be your new playmate!