Hi my dear friends of robotshop,
Back in the past, I wanted to buy the spykee toy from Meccano but it was reported to later. And then, it cames on the market in the same time as the Rovio
from Wowwee. Both companies promise a programmable feature to controled each robot. Wowwee has developped a nice API with a lot of documentation. Also,
their Rovio is quit nice and fully functionnal. But for Meccano, customers are still waiting for a product that will go climb the stairs…
When a customer pays 300 $ for a product, he wants the company to keep their promises.
For information, here a comparison between the two products :
robotsrule.com/html/rovio-or-spykee.php
About this product robotshop.ca/New-arrivals/robonica-robonii-rc-programmable-robot-starter-pack.html, I visited the web site’s company and tried to find some documentation about what it seems to be a really advance and awesome product.
In fact, I found nothing at all. It’s like a toy that you must connect (like usb key to use some software like Cubase and others) in order to play with
their software. This product seems to be to good to be true… like spykee was back in the past.
Do you have more informations about it ?
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Gardangel,
The Spykee’s release date was pushed back quite far and it entered the market roughly at the same time as the Rovio. Both are WiFi controlled robots with video feedback, a home base and more. Neither product climbs stairs.
The Robonica Roboni-i is currently in pre-release and is set to be available as of Fall of 2009. This product differs from both the Spykee and Rovio several ways:
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There is no built-in WiFi: the robot communicates with the handheld remote control via Zigbee. There are various additions (currently in the planning stages) that will add functionality to the robot.
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The Robonica Roboni-i robot has a wide array of different sensors including touch, infrared, RFID and more, wheras the Spykee does not. Rovio has IR sensors for basic obstacle avoidance and a IR beacon technology for navigation.
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Aside from being a unique 2WD R/C hoop wheeled robot, the manufacturer has given the robot objectives and games; single player, multi-player and online (program and control your virtual robot the same way as your real robot). To control the virtual robot, you plug the real robot to the computer via the USB port which acts as a wireless receiver for the handheld controller.
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Gameplay is fully customizable: the game pieces use RFID, and you can program your robot to react differently to each game piece.
We have also added a second video to the product page. If there is anything specific you would like to know about the Roboni-i, do not hesitate to ask.
RobotShop will soon add content around the Roboni-i robot which can include articles and videos. This will help to better explain and show the features and capabilities of the Roboni-i robot.
Stay tuned for more information.
