Nuvo: the charming, mild-mannered robotic overlord
posted Dec 16th 2005 12:01AM
The world is full of annoying fake pets, so why gift another robotic canine when you could bestow a humanoid Nuvo upon that lucky member of your shopping list? And we're not just saying lucky because of the hefty change you'll be dropping on them ($7,000 for the English version), but for all the sweet moves Nuvo has — on the dance floor and in the tech specs. He responds to verbal commands, can serve up MP3s at request, can be controlled over a web browser or through your phone with his WiFi and Bluetooth skillz, and can shoot video of all the goings on for posterity sake. There are other options this year for robot gifting, but past sneaking a QRIO out from under the watchful eye of Sony, you're not going to find a better humanoid than the Nuvo this holiday season.
NUVO has the smoothest moves of any robot on the market, and it looks incredibly cute too. When I played with one last month here in Tokyo (see videoclip- http://www.robots-dreams.com/2005/11/nuvo_robot_in_a.html) both the adults and kids at the trade show stood in line to try it out. The design is much more durable and solid than the KHR-1 servo based robots, primarily because NUVO uses custom designed motors and feedback mechanisms. And - this is the best part - the bright colors and incredible styling make it look like a Ferrari! Very, very cool.