Rise of the robots...

In the last few years, the run up to christmas has heralded a raft of new gadgets, and i've always got a keen eye on the state of robot development.
Since the realtive failure of the Sony Aibo dog robot, the focus seems to have been to create dummed-down robot toys that are cheap enough to actually buy.

The Robosapien is one of these which I imagine would be quite disappointing after the initial interest. I mean, come on, it's not really a robot is it? it's just a RC car with legs. When we think of a home robot, what we really want is something like the teddy bear in the film "A.I.", or at least the Honda Asimo or Sony Qrio - but unless you can afford to spend the price of a luxury car, you won't get one.

A couple of robots have appeared recently that seem to be bridging the gap between toys and real programmable robots: The MechRC is around £400 and is in the 'expensive toy' category. It appears to be incredibly mobile, and includes some nice PC programming software that allows you to create complex movements on a virtual 3D robot, before transferring them across to the real thing via USB.

Dig deeper into your pockets (around £800) and maybe you can afford to buy the Robonova-1. This little guy is truly amazing and has some really fluid movements. You can buy it pre-assembled or in kit form to save a few quid. The real advantage seems to be the fact that all the components can be sourced separately, plus you can buy some add-ons like motion sensors, sound sensors, gripping hands etc. I can see this approach being the way the market moves, as inevitably your robot is at some point going to tumble down the stairs and break a limb. It's a lot cheaper to replace a part than a whole unit.

I think we are at the point with robots that we were with home computers in the late 1970's. Back then, only real enthusiasts bought computers, and there was no perceived useful purpose other than entertainment. Fast-forward 20 years or so and every household had a PC.

We need these enthusiastic early-adopters to get out there and buy these early robots, as that is the only way this technology will evolve and become affordable. Plus, if you buy one of these guys and keep it in good condition, it may well be highly collectable in years to come...