14 million for an aibo?

Aibo is the name of the robotic pets brand that Sony was producing until very recently. Now discontinued, I understand that the prices for second hand units may rise… but I have just found this aibo selling for 7.917.029,53 EUR, which sounds a little too expensive. However, to my surprise there´s this other aibo selling for 14.639.379,30 EUR!! I wonder if there´s something fishy going on: take a look at the bidding history, you may be surprised… The aibos are announced as “complete & immaculate”.

ps. But if you really want them, they´re still on sale… 😉

Update A few hours later, one of the aibos has been retired and the other one has had its price reduced, the high bids canceled.

Zinc Mecha

http://www.zincpanic.com/

Japanese toy design is one of the last bastions of optimism in our increasingly luddite world-view. (…) we endeavor to be the most complete, thorough and accurate resource regarding anything related to Japanese toys

If you like japanese robots, you MUST visit Zinc Panic. This site features a huge collection of articles on japanese robot characters and toys of every kind you could think about. You say Mazinger? they have it. Evangelion? sure! Gundam? of course! You´ll probably have to fight the cool-looking, pixel-artsy, kinda-esotheric interface, but getting lost in the site is actually part of the experience, as the designers explain in the… er, helpful help section:

there is no end point, no goal to reach, within Zinc Panic.

All said and done: After quite some time exploring the site at my leisure, I recognize the great double effort made to build up a comprehensive database and a website with personality. I assure you, browsing through Zinc Panic will be a unique and rewarding experience!

HoBot

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Ho.htm

http://www.zoho.nl/zoho2.html

the “ultimate puppet” that could duplicate the grace and range of human movement

Mark Ho has recently been spotted in many sites across the Web after his work on the ArtForm No.1, a metal fully poseable robot sculpture. The reasons for this interest? Well, according to a post in digg, Mark is selling a limited series of these sculptures, priced at more than 36000 dollars each. That will raise some eyebrows, but honestly, I think that the price is fair (and it would be even if the series weren’t limited). From a craftsperson’s point of view the statue is a masterpiece, comprised of 920 pieces that Continue reading HoBot

We are kid robots

http://www.kidrobot.com/index.html

Kidrobot is planet Earth’s premier creator and retailer of limited-edition art toys, mini-figures, posters, clothing, action figures and more!

Back in September I bought one of these Ultramini mini figures (I got the black one) in a comic book shop as a present for my brother. He very much liked both the packaging and the figure, and so did I (I think I´ll get another one for myself). The design is clearly inspired by the japanese Ultraman (should be pronounced Ul-to-ra-man), and ultramini looks to me like a sort of freestyle-super deformed figure -with lots of style :). Moreover, I was surprised to find that the company behind the ultraminis is specialized in making various high quality limited series of vinyl figures, which are becoming very popular nowadays. I was particularly delighted by the tengu figures, but you will surely find something you like among the many galleries featured in the site.

Ps: The title of this post is made after a known song of a very influential techno group 😉

The incredible Robopet

,or When aliens mate with aibo

a robot by Mark Tilden

http://www.robopetonline.com/

Robopet is the perfect fusion of technology and personality. He “comes alive” with a combination of user-controlled movements and autonomous, free-roaming behaviors, some of them naughty and some of them nice. And, at seven inches, he’s the perfect interactive pet to take anywhere!

A few days ago I found Robopet while walking down the toy section in a nearby mall (don´t raise your eyebrows. Since we are approaching Christmas the toy section has taken over the entire place. Anyway, I was searching for toys for my little nephew. For when I have one, that is). That first contact was kinda tepid: flanked by a bunch of huge Roboraptors, the much smaller robopets didn´t really stand out very well on the shelves. However, I decided long ago that Roboraptor is too expensive for my budget nephew, so I took a box with one robopet and looked at it carefully. Now, after some time, several reviews read and a few videos watched, I still look at it with the same “what the …?” expression. I like robots very much, and robopet seems to feature some of the things that made aibo so interesting for a fraction of the price: it moves smoothly, has several well thought interactions, runs on batteries (I wonder how long they last), and can either be autonomous (to impress oneself) or remote controlled (to impress oneself´s friends). However, it seems that for some reason I can´t get accustomed to the way it looks. Quoting a PC Magazine Article describing the robot, “Robopet is, more accurately, a skeletal representation of a small Chihuahua’s physical anatomy, especially in the legs, which have been engineered to realistically interpret the bones and tendons of a dog”. Well, I don´t know if I´ll buy the robot, but of one thing I´m sure: chihuahuas will never look the same to me. 😛