RoboReptile
Robot Toys | March 29th, 2008
Programming worked smoothly, though the instructions do not make it clear that if you want to program actions, you need to exit from the remote level that shows “program” and then reenter it to execute the routine. All other controls worked as promised. I put the Roboreptile on guard mode, and it waited for something to pass in front before attacking. I easily controlled the sweep of its ever-moving tail and its head, mouth, volume, and walking speed. The Roboreptile has four speeds, including walking on its two hind legs, but its front legs do not assist in motion, even when it’s walking on all fours. The bottoms of its two front feet have hard, slick plastic pads that slide along the floor while the back legs do all the work. The Roboreptile and its remote take a total of ten double-A batteries. In 45 minutes of play (and additional few-minute-long sessions after that), the robot showed no signs of slowing down.
The two nose mounted IR sensors allow for the Roboreptile to detect objects in its path and movement. With two sensors, it can discern the differences between movement on its left and right. These sensors have limited range when it comes to typical surfaces, thus the robot will not be able to detect you across the room. They do have sufficient range to detect walls and obstacles in its path as well as your hand should you be foolish enough to put it in front of its head when it’s hungry.
The Roboreptile doesn’t ship with any toys, but you can make it follow the remote if you hold down the “feed” button. Its sensors do help it get around objects: It successfully navigated its way under my dining room table and between chair legs, but because the robot’s head is constantly sweeping back and forth and it can really only “see” what’s directly in front of it, it often whacks its head into objects and walls over and over again. The Roboreptile is made of pretty tough plastic, so there was no real damage, but its head—and its tail, which is also always sweeping—got scuffed up rather quickly.
When seen in the store, it’s hard not to be impressed by Roboreptile. It’s striking black and white design and colorful packaging promise a “cool” experience. It is very long and takes up a large amount of shelf space. Due to its size in relation to other toys, it’s usually fairly easy to find. There is also something to be said about the fact that it is a robotic dinosaur. I’m over 30 yrs old now, but when I was 10, I dreamed of someday owning a robotic dinosaur similar to this, even though the technology didn’t exist yet. This is cool stuff!