R2-D2 interactive robot
Okay, here’s another brief post about a toy/gadget (toyget?) that I bought – it’s the R2-D2 interactive robot.
This nifty little fella is a fully voice controlled (or not so controlled, as the case may be) R2-D2, made to 1/4 scale of the real thing. R2 (Artoo) can perform a variety of voice controlled tasks or just plonk around, doing his own thing. He’s also got something of a personality and may or may not be in the mood to do what you ask him to.
He comes equipped with a drink holder (so you can get him to go fetch you a drink – assuming someone helps him pick it up) or so he can hold other light weight objects.
Voice control
In reality, the voice pickup isn’t great. Maybe in an American accent it works better but I run about a 50% chance Artoo will understand me. In a really quite room this is significantly improved but in even a moderately noisy room you might as well be talking to the wall.
Mobility
Artoo’s fairly mobile and can get around on carpet, tiles, wood or other reasonably flat surfaces just fine. I wouldn’t trust him on sand as this would probably clog his wheels but he gets over brick surfaces with no trouble and is actually very stable and difficult to tip up.
Commands
Artoo comes with a list of about 50 published functions and 6 hidden functions. Combined, this does add up to a fairly flexible little robot, as you can plot courses for him to remember, as well as put him in various modes, such as command mode or game mode. Command mode allows you to tell Artoo to “turn around” or “go left 3 units”, etc or pre-program him with a course to complete.
Games mode
One really fun feature is called “light tag”, where Artoo gives you 10 seconds to hide and then comes looking for you. Using his ultrasonic sonar to avoid objects and his infra-red sensors, Artoo is actually very good at navigating his way around rooms and can easily tell a person from any other object. When he finds you, he does a little victory dance.
Otherwise, he has a few more games, like spin the robot (where his head moves around randomly until it stops on someone in a circle, like spin the bottle). He can also patrol and guard rooms, sounding an alarm if someone enters.
Navigation
Artoo navigates surprisingly well. He has three key forms of understanding his surroundings, being:
- Ultrasonic sonar: This ensures he doesn’t hit walls or objects and works remarkably well. Artoo can get around busy rooms without bumping into stationary or moving objects. This is backed up by resistance sensors, which let him know if he’s encountered something unseen which is hindering him.
- Infra-red sensors: Artoo uses these to determine if an object is living or not (hot or cold). This is one of his strongest points as I’d have to say he has a 100% success rate on this.
- Sound tracking: Artoo definitely seems to be able to work out which direction a sound came from. So much so that if you talk to him, he looks in your direction and is even able to follow you around a room or the house.
Summary
All up, he’s a fun little guy who would be especially great for children who are older enough to respect electronics but young enough to be excited by their imaginations and toys. Anywhere from ages 10 to 70, in other words. 
If anyone out there has one and wants to know his “secret” commands:
http://www.hasbro.com/r2droidfactory/default.cfm?page=command_adv
Here’s a brief youtube video to give you an idea of Artoo in action. As always – the video isn’t me, just something I found on youtube…