Harcey's Identity: Derrick Harcey's Weblog

I have maintained a passing interest in robotics developments and never considered the Furby to be of any interest at all. The Sony Aibo on the other hand did seem interesting from a technology perspective.

But I think it looks silly and priced outrageously (several times more than a real AKC registered purebred pup, besides I always hated lapdogs and nothing can replace my Border Collie).

Now the maker of the Furby, Caleb Chung, has a new “life form”, Pleo. Made by Ugobe, it is designed to resemble a one-week-old sauropod.

The reason this caught my attention, (other than the fact that my toddler is crazy about anything to do with dinosaurs and christmas is coming), is this is a toy that has lot of high tech stuff packed into it in a reasonable price. Check out the lifelike behaviour in the video on their website.

For a more serious look at the future of robotics, check out this Popular Science Article. According to this article: So we will have both the hardware and software to achieve human-level intelligence in a machine by 2029.

Be afraid.... I love progress as much as the next guy, but we are moving forward at a rapid pace. The words of Bill Joy come to mind...

Scientists can’t simply shrug their shoulders and disassociate themselves from the implications of their work, Joy said, especially when people like philosopher John Leslie conclude that the risk for extinction of the human race is at least 30 percent.