Cool Yule rating: 5 stars $128Description: Wowwee calls Robopanda “a fusion of technology and personality.” We’re not sure what this means, but Robopanda is light years beyond anything that came before. Remember Teddy Ruxpin or Furbies? Robopanda blows them out of the water with a toy that a child can really interact with.
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I tested the company’s Robosapien and Roboraptor in past years and I have to say that Wowwee has finally gotten it right. Kids don’t need to read a manual or learn controls to play with Robopanda, because Robopanda starts talking out of the box. “Touch my head to play a game.” “Touch my belly to hear a joke.” “Touch my arms to sing a song.” Robopanda has all kinds of touch and tilt sensors. Put it on its back and it says, “Hey, a little help here.” Pick it up and it says, “Where are we going? An African safari? The next room?” It talks, laughs, sings, moves around, tells jokes, tells stories. It also does some pretty impressive things, like if you move its arms in a certain motion, it will “learn” that motion and repeat it.
Whereas Robosapien and Roboraptor were somewhat scary, Robopanda is downright cuddly. Abigail (age 10) reports that Robopanda would be a perfect toy for kids in the 7 to 10 age group. And it certainly represents a giant step forward in terms of robotic toys.
