Two things that kids of all ages seem to love are dinosaurs and robots. Creating a hybrid of the two is just mad science on the level of Mecha Godzilla, but the folks at WowWee have done just that with their MiPosaur.
The MiPosaur is a responsive robot that can be controlled by a ball that it comes with, by gesturing around it, or by smartphone app. The dino is very responsive, regardless of which control method is used. The ball can be set into different modes that allows different behaviors by the MiPosaur, which allow it to play with the ball, follow it like a leash, and other reactions. The behaviors in response to the ball give it a very pet like quality.
The MiPosaur can also respond to the user via gestures. By moving one’s hand around the MiPosaur in different ways, it allows the robot dino to react to the movements. MiPosaur goes into different moods, which determine the response to the user’s movement, giving the toy a personality that goes beyond simply call and response.
The MiPosaur app allows the user to have direct control over the dino, either by using the app as a remote control or drawing lines on screen and having it follow. The path mode is the closest MiPosaur comes to being programmable, but allows for one to draw pictures in the app then watching it create those patterns as it moves around the floor. There is also a battle mode that allows MiPosaurs to battle each other or against WowWee’s MiP robot. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try the battle mode, since I only had the one robot to work with.
WowWee’s MiPosaur is a fun toy that has many interactive possibilities that go beyond simple remote controlled toys that are of a similar ilk. As a techie, I would have liked to have seen more programmable options for the MiPosaur, but they are obviously going for a different audience. Regardless of that missing element, it’s fun to play with and gives some serious play options with their version of a cyber Tyrannosaurus Rex.
