This Two-Wheeled Robot Will Bring You a Coke if You Ask Nicely
This little two-wheeled ’bot is a lot more than a one-trick pony. MiP — which stands for the slightly less catchy Mobile Inverted Pendulum — is a toy robot that can dance, box, play games and deliver you a full can of soda.
The plucky little robot does an impressive job balancing atop two wheels. In fact, MiP’s a bit like a robotic centaur, albeit with the horse half swapped out for the base of a Segway. He manages to stay upright while carrying his own weight on a serving tray, a fact that the company demonstrated to me at Toy Fair on Monday by stacking another MiP on top of that one.
It is possible to knock him over, but doing so will get you on his bad side. He’ll let you know he’s upset through his light-up eyes and sounds.
There are a couple of ways to control the robot. He’s got motion detection built in, so you can tell him where you want to go by waving your hand around. He’s also Bluetooth-enabled, which means you can control him with your iOS or Android device.
The free app can make MiP follow predetermined paths, dance and fight fellow robots for your amusement. That big, colorful light on his chest lets you know exactly what he’s about to do.
The ’bot will start rolling into stores in May for $119.
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