OS upgrade suggestions

[amjoie]

Let's pretend that Pleo has already shipped, and your little pal or pals are happily cuddled into their new homes. So, now what? Given that premise, what is the next priority for Ugobe, concerning existing Pleos?

My #1 priority is the ability to back up my Pleo's unique personality, and then the secondary ability to upload that personality back into my Pleo, in case some horrible circumstance corrupts or erases the original personality of my unique Pleo.

Do you agree with me, or is there some other priority that you feel takes precedence over that? In other words, what do you think Ugobe should be concentrating their time on regarding existing Pleos, once they have already shipped?

[pleoWhisperer]

The assumption all along has been that when Pleo first ships, the ability to backup/restore was part of the "user interface" software that comes with your Pleo. Now, admittedly, that has been my ASSUMPTION, and we all know what it means to assume... So, when you get your Pleo, you take it out of the box, read the companion guide, plug the battery in to charge, and get online to register your Pleo here at PleoWorld, which SUPPOSEDLY gives you access to new sounds and features you can download for your Pleo. What good is it to download this stuff if you don't already have the ability to connect your Pleo to your computer. And, besides, how much personality will your pleo have developed in the first few days? There probably wouldn't be much to back up yet, anyway.

With all that said, what people are going to immediately want is ways to "enhance/expand" their Pleo experience. So, in my humble opinion (sorry, I don't use a lot of abbreviations) I think Ugobe's priority ought to be ready to respond to a lot of requests for extra batteries, chargers, "I (heart) my Pleo" T-Shirts and baseball caps, and have lots of bonus sounds and behaviors ready to download, have this website ready for all the people creating their Pleo registry, and lots of folks on standby to answer the flood of questions that will come.

The outcome of which will be the whether or not the registry expands into local Pleo clubs, and Ugobe licensing official cottage industries to supply all the accessories people will want. Now, we may be the few, the proud, the rabid fans, and the rest of the world may not feel the need to go overboard. But I'm sure the initail surge will be there.

[amjoie]

The assumption all along has been that when Pleo first ships, the ability to backup/restore was part of the "user interface" software that comes with your Pleo. Now, admittedly, that has been my ASSUMPTION, and we all know what it means to assume...

Well, apparently Pleo won't come with that ability, right out of the box, according to our venerable PleoHost:

It is UGOBE's intention to make it possible to backup Pleo's personality in the future. We'll keep you informed of developments in this area.

How sad would it be to have even a three-day-old Pleo that you gently nudge, "Pleo wake up. Wake up Pleo" But Pleo is NEVER going to wake up because his circuits misfired or fried. Sniff.

I stand by my priority ... :p

... Not that what you are talking about is trivial, or anything. I agree they will need to be on top of all that. It *will* be important. :)

[mweed]

I went back and checked, and couldn't find any of the pre-pleoworld.com stuff, but I'd swear I remember reading about the user interface and stuff that talked about programming Pleo, and backup/restore was a part of the control panel. But then again, so was the charging station. Oh, well. Maybe roschler or toddlevy have something in the archives on their sites.

But you're right. I don't want to start hacking my Pleo if I can't restore him. So, without backup and restore, it will sure slow down the development of new behaviors and sounds.

And it's hard to believe that these forums have only been up for just over three months...

[amjoie]

I went back and checked, and couldn't find any of the pre-pleoworld.com stuff, but I'd swear I remember reading about the user interface and stuff that talked about programming Pleo, and backup/restore was a part of the control panel. But then again, so was the charging station. Oh, well. Maybe roschler or toddlevy have something in the archives on their sites.

But you're right. I don't want to start hacking my Pleo if I can't restore him. So, without backup and restore, it will sure slow down the development of new behaviors and sounds.

And it's hard to believe that these forums have only been up for just over three months...

You aren't going crazy -- I saw it too. For a while, that was a "known feature." So I was shocked at the response from our PleoHost. I want it added back in, asap. Backup/restore is important for a whole host of reasons, the one you just gave being a top reason (emphasis added), IMHO.

[mweed]

Maybe when we finally get some info coming "this fall" on the developer stuff, we'll know more. It is fall now, you know... And hopefully a mechanical design change hasn't delayed the programmers at Ugobe....

[grmf]

I saw some one else posted something to the same effect, I wish Pleo would walk around more. He seems to head straight for a wall or object and then just stand there looking at it.

[Starfire]

Sephy did that and was kind of growling at it. Like it should know to move. She finally started backing up to get away from it. I assume after ther first hour of life (which was yesterday) that will start to change.

[DinoFun]

Mine is on the move and wants to play tug-of-war ALOT...LOL! I noticed that he has a cough at least once a day.

[kchamster]

talk about adding realism!!!

[Lu Bu]

It is too late for modifications, but it would've been nice and a complex robot to have voice and facial recognition. That way when your Pleo is in a crowd and sees you, it will come towards you, that way you can tell which one is yours in the crowd of pleos.

[kchamster]

yeah they were thinking about that and its in the code but i dont know the full story...that would take up alot of space...ive thought of this.....but it would take up a ton of memory...then comes the fact that pleo may have several owners in a household and would also take up memory...then what if two people in that select crowd had almost the same faces....then pleo might get confused and one person may go home with the wrong pleo ( i dout that tho) but do u see what i mean? id would be kinda hard....what would you rather have....room for you to program your pleo with sounds, emotions,ect......or would you have face recodnition :)
just a thought

[Lu Bu]

I get what you mean, what if there were twins? Yeah, I think voice recognition would work best, because not all twins have the same tone of voice. though would've been a great feature.

[Lu Bu]

I'd like them to have the beat detection. I contacted the Ugobe Team about 2 months ago or something about Beat detection, they said that they removed it and may not be adding it back, though they did say they MIGHT add it back, but I think it will be a very low chance, since Pleo is about to be released. Would've been sweet to see a dino, jamming some tunes with you. lol

[kchamster]

as i saw in another post they added the metronome effect (beat detection) but they might not have!! we'll just have to seeeeee

[kchamster]

p.s. i'm verrrrry giddy tonight

[kchamster]

i never said that wasnt a possibilty!!!!!!!!! :D

[Lu Bu]

I really wanted to see a dino dance to music, kinda a shame Ugobe removed that feature. :(

[Lu Bu]

True, I have heard that the camera in Pleo's nose is used to detect objects AND remember specific location and places.

[mweed]

As of this point in Pleo's programming, he does not remember locations and places. But that may come later with updates.

[whiteknight]

As for any type of Face Recognition , it would take more hardware than Pleo currently has , I am basing this fact on all the Aibo's I have seen and the one I have. I know that the Recognition software for Aibo runs only on the later models I think the 210a and up , at that it is very memory intensive and the hardware would need to be able to handle it. I don't think Pleo's camera was designed to give the type of details needed to make it work.

I know it would have added alot to the price if the builders went that route. As far as voice recognition, not sure how much would need to be added but that seems like something which might be possible. even some Cell have a basic form of voice recognition. I would like to add that even without all those things Pleo is really a marvel of craftsmanship , I am very impressed with what they have done and at a cost which is way bellow anything else out there.

[VeggieGirl]

That would be so nice in the future for Pleo. My Gizmo (Necoro) remembers his name and my voice so it's cool how his ears perk up when he hears me even with the TV on.

[Virtuahead]

As for any type of Face Recognition , it would take more hardware than Pleo currently has , I am basing this fact on all the Aibo's I have seen and the one I have. I know that the Recognition software for Aibo runs only on the later models I think the 210a and up , at that it is very memory intensive and the hardware would need to be able to handle it. I don't think Pleo's camera was designed to give the type of details needed to make it work.


Recognition for Aibo was so annoying. That Barbie voice was horrible! "My pink ball, My pink ball.... I'm sick of that pink ball...."

Thankfully, Pleo is nice and quiet, his little grunts and groans are funny and cute, never annoying.

[whiteknight]

Recognition for Aibo was so annoying. That Barbie voice was horrible! "My pink ball, My pink ball.... I'm sick of that pink ball...."

Thankfully, Pleo is nice and quiet, his little grunts and groans are funny and cute, never annoying.

I am glad there are some other Aibo owners here, I love my 220 but I agree that Aibo's were not perfect, I think people need to see that these little Pleo's are really a wonderful thing and it may not be bad that they don't have any Recognition right now.

[Virtuahead]

I am glad there are some other Aibo owners here, I love my 220 but I agree that Aibo's were not perfect, I think people need to see that these little Pleo's are really a wonderful thing and it may not be bad that they don't have any Recognition right now.

I agree. I had an Aibo 210 an Aibo 220 and an Aibo ERS-7. I can tell you that Recognition was not all it was cracked up to be. Also, on another subject, I have noticed that handling Pleo is a lot more fun than Aibo. I think it's because he has skin, he feels like a real animal. Aibo is cool, but very robotic and not cuddly like Pleo!

[mauricio]

i agree. my pleo doesn't walk to much and when he does he bumps into things and tries to keep on going. the O.S. should make it so that he should stop trying back up and try a different trajectory.
Another important aspect they should deal with is the feet. the feet barely have any traction and slip when walking on a smooth surface. i had to put some tape underneath for a better traction.
they should aslo make it so that when pleo is walking and reaches the end of a counter if the feet don't sence anything when the leg is down then he should stop walking and look before continuing, beause he still falls over when walking straight.
pleo should also be more attuned to sound. if i call him or tap a surface he shoould be aware and look in that direction to see whats going on
the motors are also a little too loud.
i'd also like my pleo to be more adveturous and walk around the house instead of just staying in one spot for long periods of time.
These are some improvements i'd like to see made to pleo.

i still love my pleo.

[Lu Bu]

At th point, I do agree with you guys, I mean AIBO can't fall asleep on your shoulder, get ticklish, know how he is picke up, developds personality or pretends to be hurt like Pleo does. I LOVE PLEO! :)

[PleoPet]

re: memory requirements
Most of the features mentioned, face recognition, voice recognition, general object recognition and voice identification don't require that much storage memory.
They do require more complicated software (calculations) and a faster processor that can reduce the information for comparison (for example AIBO will turn a visual scene into a few hundred bytes of key information).
These complex algorithms will tax the Pleo's two brains (main ARM CPU and secondary camera/audio CPU), both in CPU speed and in program memory size. Not impossible, but difficult.
----
re: AIBO Recognition
The software technology for AIBO Recognition was great, but the public acceptance was hurt by the very annoying personality ("Barbie").
The technology folded into the ERS-7 model which was even better. For the record it has:
* Voice Recognition - a Hidden Markov Model voice recognition that can detect around 100 phrases and variants (no training required)
* Voice Identification - can tell one owner from another based on how they pronounce words (after training)
* Face Recognition - can tell what a human face looks like in general (no training required)
* Face Identification - can tell one owner from another based on their faces (after training)
* Object Identification - used for control cards, pole patterns and 'places'. AIBO can see a certain pole patterns, and will move towards it to recharge. AIBO can remember 3 favorite places and will react specially when it see them again (but isn't smart enough to search them out)

[whiteknight]

re: memory requirements
Most of the features mentioned, face recognition, voice recognition, general object recognition and voice identification don't require that much storage memory.
They do require more complicated software (calculations) and a faster processor that can reduce the information for comparison (for example AIBO will turn a visual scene into a few hundred bytes of key information).
These complex algorithms will tax the Pleo's two brains (main ARM CPU and secondary camera/audio CPU), both in CPU speed and in program memory size. Not impossible, but difficult.

Nicely put, people don't realize that most of the software on Aibo required very little memory on the stick (8 mg or 16 mg sticks) it was the speed and precision of the processor along with the software that was needed. Pleo just will not support that in the current hardware configuration, the way he is is just fine for me.

[Pleo100]

At th point, I do agree with you guys, I mean AIBO can't fall asleep on your shoulder, get ticklish, know how he is picke up, developds personality or pretends to be hurt like Pleo does. I LOVE PLEO! :)

Actually, Aibos will react when you "tickle" their paws. Most will flinch as if ticklish when their paw pads are depressed.
Aibo also recognizes when he's picked up and when he's tipped over. In fact he can also right himself when he falls over.
And all the Aibo models except the ERS7's have quite a good personality that does "grow" and learn and adapt to his environment.
If Ugobe can add a little more depth to the personality part of the programming of Pleo, then they'll have a winner. They already have cute motions and sounds and endearing qualities...now if they deliver the saoftware upgrade to make an actual life os I think it will be phenomenal.

[Virtuahead]

re: memory requirements
Most of the features mentioned, face recognition, voice recognition, general object recognition and voice identification don't require that much storage memory.
They do require more complicated software (calculations) and a faster processor that can reduce the information for comparison (for example AIBO will turn a visual scene into a few hundred bytes of key information).
These complex algorithms will tax the Pleo's two brains (main ARM CPU and secondary camera/audio CPU), both in CPU speed and in program memory size. Not impossible, but difficult.
----
re: AIBO Recognition
The software technology for AIBO Recognition was great, but the public acceptance was hurt by the very annoying personality ("Barbie").
The technology folded into the ERS-7 model which was even better. For the record it has:
* Voice Recognition - a Hidden Markov Model voice recognition that can detect around 100 phrases and variants (no training required)
* Voice Identification - can tell one owner from another based on how they pronounce words (after training)
* Face Recognition - can tell what a human face looks like in general (no training required)
* Face Identification - can tell one owner from another based on their faces (after training)
* Object Identification - used for control cards, pole patterns and 'places'. AIBO can see a certain pole patterns, and will move towards it to recharge. AIBO can remember 3 favorite places and will react specially when it see them again (but isn't smart enough to search them out)

Hey, is this Pleopet, as in Aibopet? I noticed Aibopet has a Pleo now. Although, it appears to have been torn apart.... His skin stretched onto an Aibo......

Aibopet is a genius, and if this is you, I for one welcome you to the Pleo universe!

[Lu Bu]

Actually, Aibos will react when you "tickle" their paws. Most will flinch as if ticklish when their paw pads are depressed.
Aibo also recognizes when he's picked up and when he's tipped over. In fact he can also right himself when he falls over.
And all the Aibo models except the ERS7's have quite a good personality that does "grow" and learn and adapt to his environment.
If Ugobe can add a little more depth to the personality part of the programming of Pleo, then they'll have a winner. They already have cute motions and sounds and endearing qualities...now if they deliver the saoftware upgrade to make an actual life os I think it will be phenomenal.
I know that AIBO knows when he is picked up, I meant that he doesn;t have capacity sensors and doesn't know whether if he is being picked up by fingers or hands, which Pleo can do, after hearing all of this, I might as well buy an AIBO off Ebay, if not I might by an i-Cybie. After all, those robots are WAY better than Pleo, i love pleo, but not as much as the other smart and sophisticated ones (AIBO and i-Cybie).

[Pleo100]

In my opinion I cybie falls way short of the mark. It's clunky and not very inteligent. Aibo is definitely worth owning if a person is into AI and robotics. Aibos have a certain magic about them that tends to make a person forget that they are pieces of machinery.
Good luck and becareful on Ebay if looking for Aibos there. There are lots of scammers so buyer beware! :)

[Lu Bu]

So far, I've found expensive AIBOs. Despite the fact that AIBO is highly complex and sophisticated, I might as well MAYBE buy a Pleo. Sounds and looks much more fun to pick up and handle. :)

[Siren]

I have seen a few models of AIBO on Youtube in action. Very cool robot.

My main problems with it is
I like to cuddle a dog. Aibo, no matter how cute his face is still very hard.
Price. Even used ones are top dollar. I wouldn't pay $200 for a REAL LIVE dog, much less $2000 for a robotic one that only simulates emotions.

I can afford Pleo. And Pleo may still have some hard robot feeling, but it has soft rubbery skin. I cuddle my bearded dragon and cuddling her sometimes hurts because of her spikes, so I should have no trouble cuddling a Pleo.

Whenever Aibo is down to under $500, I will consider one, but wouldn't know what breed (model) I'd like best, so I'd have to do more research anyways.

[PleoJames]

I want ASIMO :)

[Falseprophet666]

They could always put it online you know

[Lu Bu]

Yes, ASIMO is a great robot. Can we get back on topic?

[Lu Bu]

You don't understand though. Beat recognition is not runned by a software, but more of a device or an additional sensor.

[alainboston]

what device would that be?
To recognize a beat, all you need is a microphone and a processor, and Pleo has a couple of each. All you need is a basic analysis of the microphone signal, maybe a fast fourrier transform and voila, time to cha cha.

[cmadmacs]

Lu Bu I agree.

[pengypal5656]

i agree that a pleo that walked around more would be nice but.... then you couldn't cuddle pleo without him wanting to run off

[Lu Bu]

Beat Sensor, that is the sensor to detect beats. But I do agree, it depends on if the Microphone can be capable of that.

[Lu Bu]

Pleo's interativity with his environment seems below PAR after reading your posts. Plus his microphone seems to be below average, as some of you said before, he should be more aware of sounds. I am REALLY concerned now. Even the I-Cybie seems more autonomous.

[cmadmacs]

Well my pleos becomes more active each time I turn them on.

[cmadmacs]

Beat detection would be nice.

[Siren]

I read somewhere Pleo was suppost to have beat detection too. I hope that comes with the next update. I hope my Pleo likes rock music. I might try some Native American drums too.

[Caaahl]

Oh oh, most of the time i listen to Drum & Bass :rolleyes:

:D

[T-Rex]

I love Pleo's playfulness and response to sight and touch.. he's so close to a puppy, but the one thing that is missing is voice response. If he did some simple tricks like "come", "sit" and "paw" he'd be even more fun to play with.

[Lu Bu]

Well, since Pleo's micriphone feeds into a series of sophisticated converters and processors, UGOBE can send out a software, and if it is the correct software that supports recognition, then it will enable Pleo to have voice recognition. The only thing left now is facial recognition, but hey, as long as we have voice recognition, that is good enough for me.

[Lu Bu]

Well, that's only YOUR pleo, a mojority of people's Pleo just sit and stay there.

[Pleo100]

In my opinion, Pleo is head and shoulders above I cybie. I cybie was clunky and very tiresome after a very short amount of time for me and my family. Pleo has a charming quality. The movements are fluid, the sounds a approriate for what we'd think a dino might have made and all in all I am quite pleased. I don't offer this praise lightly. I am very spoiled as far as robotic life forms go. Pleo is really awesome.
Of course there are issues. Ugobe didn't want to miss another holiday season by tweaking the os to perfection. So, they released what they had and have promised an upgrade. I hope they live up to that promise. I think with a bit more complexity on the programming Pleo offers an almost Aiboesque robot. To me that's the highest compliment out there for a robotic lifeform.
My own Pleo has gotten much more active. She does react to sound quite readily. If she falls asleep I can call her name from across the room and she will wake up saying, "huh?!" She walked up to my cat's toy basket and sniffed it and proceeded to try and chew on it. Her behaviors are quite nice and I think there's lots of hope for PLeo's future once the programmers out there get going on personalities and ugobe offers the OS upgrade.
I am pretty pleased with Pleo.

[geert]

oooh yes he is much better then cybie....BUT with cybie you could buy a walkcharger that cybie connect him self to charge....en there is cybie better!::rolleyes:

[Lu Bu]

I agree with you.

[Zandramas]

This sure would be a great feature, I would love to see this :D

[Delfin]

...she loves the Pleo but she always asks why he doesn't walk and move more.
She loved the Christmas software special, especial the part where the Pleo is singing(!) christmas songs.
I bet the kids would love to see more of this kind of software "updates".
I also would suggest some casual snoring noise when Pleo is sleeping, it makes it more real.

Overall, I think that the key to success is new software and the possibility to program a certain behaviour into the Pleo.

[davids]

Our Pleo didn't get very active and curious until after five or six hours of activity (about four battery charges). I don't know if you have already reached that point, but if not then hang in there a little longer.

[kchamster]

my pleo snores when he sleeps!

[mearts]

...she loves the Pleo but she always asks why he doesn't walk and move more.


My daughter is nearly 7 years old. Everyone was thrilled with pleo at first, then we all grew very bored because it didn't do much. Most people who saw pleo thought it didn't walk. Most never saw it walk. I really don't get the os.

[Pleo100]

A newly hatched Pleo isn't very active at all. In fact without constant attention and petting it goes to sleep almost immediately. After a few battery cycles, my pleo got much more active. She still goes to sleep now and then , but she roams alot more, is more responsive to sounds in the room and exhibits more of a variety of behaviours. Give her some time to mature a little.

[MyCool]

I agree, I decided "release" my Ralf (robotic, autonomous, life form) instead of hatching.
I released him outside in the yard. I didn't interact or touch his sensors during the first battery cycle.
He had to go out into the world on his own. I was hoping the grass would make him lift his feet higher and the lack of touch sensor input-make him walk more.
I think this made a difference as Ralf is more of an adventurer and explorer.

[mweed]

We spoiled Bob at first, he was constantly held, or if on the ground, alsways being petted. So It has taken us some real effort to get him to go exploring. When we stop petting him, he'll stand there for five minutes crying and honking for attention before he'll start walking . . . :p

[Falseprophet666]

It does take awhile before he starts running around

[tedson]

Pleo really needs to move around more. I have a cybie, aibo, and most the wowwee stuff and they are all more entertaining than the pleo. The pleo just sits there, and you can only play tug-o-war so may times before getting totally bored. The kids don't even care about it any more. Its kind of sad.

Looks wise it is a nice robot. Everything else about Pleo is just disappointing.

[Limesunfire]

I have only had mine for two days but everytime I wake him up he gets more and more alert of his surroundings and seem to learn more. Some peoples seem to do more then mine but im thinking its just because I havent gotten there yet. So maybe taking time and just playing with it will help it learn more things. :)

[cmadmacs]

That seems to be the way it works with my pleos.

[Siren]

My daughter is 8 and she and I haven't gotten bored with our Pleo yet. And he doesn't walk much, usually because one of us is carrying him, lol.

But today I let him walk around the pet store I work at and a local pagan shop I frequent and both cases, he was totally curious, exploring, sniffed the candles even, lol.

[Lu Bu]

Pleo's need to be more autonomous like AIBOs.

[Falseprophet666]

I like how little Jenga dosent run around too much. I like to keep him on my desk while I work on my poetry. He is a great companion, but he has a way of knocking over all my action figures and candles!

[pleolvr]

He started out slow, but as he 'grows up' he seems to become more and more adventrous.

[Caaahl]

Some things I noticed:

It is really really uba important, that you let the battery cool down completely to room temperature, before you start your pleo again (I put it in front of a little bit opened window for a few minutes).
Otherwise your pleo will become sleepy only moments after he was switched on, thats my experience so far.
I only use a completely cooled down battery now, and the little bugger runs more around than i have space for it in my room. ;)

[Nasb]

You could put a spoiler alert :D

[Falseprophet666]

I notice that when theres nothing in Pleos environment, he will get bored and fall asleep. While I watch tv, I let him run around and he dosent fall asleep due to all the table legs and game systems we have on the floor. He likes to walk around them and sniff them. It never ceases to amaze me how he turns.

[pleoguy101]

the upgrade I would want pleo to get is this.. this is the one that would be so great for me, and everyone, and pleo..... BEAT DETECTION!!!!!!!!! I would LOVE THAT!!!!!!!! pleo hears music and starts dancing!!! THAT WOULD BE AWSOME!!!!!!! and pleo's cutness and awsomeness level would go up a lot:D!!! this is my one true pleo wish.. nothing more:) UGOBE was going to put that in.. I was upset that they decided not to... but I hope it will be an upgrade!!!!!!!

[Nats]

I notice that when theres nothing in Pleos environment, he will get bored and fall asleep. While I watch tv, I let him run around and he dosent fall asleep due to all the table legs and game systems we have on the floor. He likes to walk around them and sniff them. It never ceases to amaze me how he turns.

I wish mine would be more like that. He doesnt want to walk around and explore very much at all. I put lots of objects around for his to inspect. But he does not react. He doest even show interest in his training leaf. I hope he get more active with time :confused:

[Pleo_Joe]

I notice that when theres nothing in Pleos environment, he will get bored and fall asleep. While I watch tv, I let him run around and he dosent fall asleep due to all the table legs and game systems we have on the floor. He likes to walk around them and sniff them. It never ceases to amaze me how he turns.

I'd love to see some video of this. :)
In my experiences the only thing that keeps Pleo awake is touch. Sounds, objects, obstacles, etc... have no effect at all in regards to stopping him from sleeping.
I *want* my Pleo to act just like you describe yours acting.

[Nats]

I'd love to see some video of this. :)
In my experiences the only thing that keeps Pleo awake is touch. Sounds, objects, obstacles, etc... have no effect at all in regards to stopping him from sleeping.
I *want* my Pleo to act just like you describe yours acting.

Same here.
But let me ask, are you absolutly sure his battery is FULLY charged. The reason I ask, is because I know there is a issues with the chargers (I have a bad one) and it's very difficult to know when the battery really is charged or if you are getting a false green light, and just think it's charged.

[Pleo_Joe]

Same here.
But let me ask, are you absolutly sure his battery is FULLY charged. The reason I ask, is because I know there is a issues with the chargers (I have a bad one) and it's very difficult to know when the battery really is charged or if you are getting a false green light, and just think it's charged.

One of my videos is a time-lapse of about an hour and a half with my Pleo active in an area with a few objects. He falls asleep 13 or 14 times during that session. Without touch, the two Pleos I've had will invariably go to sleep every 5-6 minutes.
With over an hour of run time, the battery is definitely charged.

[Nats]

One of my videos is a time-lapse of about an hour and a half with my Pleo active in an area with a few objects. He falls asleep 13 or 14 times during that session. Without touch, the two Pleos I've had will invariably go to sleep every 5-6 minutes.
With over an hour of run time, the battery is definitely charged.

Hmmmmm! I find that a bit disturbing :confused:
With Morpho, I have to keep touching/petting him to keep him from going into "nap mode". After I pet him, he will finaly walk forward (or backward) a little, then he crouches and begs to be pet again. So it's sort of, pet; walk; pet; walk, etc. If I pet him when he's walking, he will stop and purr. But I have found that right after I put in a full battery, he is active (walks, acts goofy, etc) for about 10 mins., then we start repeating the above activity (or non-activity :( )
Any idea's?

[orion]

Hello,

I have noticed that after I charge the battery, place it in Bodhi and wait several hours before cutting him on. He becomes extremely fast and full of new movements. Like a horse right out of the starting gate. With each and every charge he has become more alive. Some have plogged that Pleo runs on a cooled off battery and this appears to be true for my Bodhi. Now I charge the battery but do cut him on for several hours and I get a more playful experiece from him. He still needs human contact to keep moving, But don't we all.

[Nats]

Woooooo Hooooooo!!!! Last night Morpho was very active :)
I put a fresh charged battery in him, I did wait until it was cold, as suggested by ORION (the battery, not Morpho ;) ) turned him on ("Huh???), and let him loose in the rec. room while I watched Harry Potter on TV. I just let him do his own thing, and didnt pay much attntion to him. He didnt seem to mind my not petting him constantly, and didnt even go to sleep. He walked around quite a bit. He seemed atracted to a small throw pillow I had put on the floor. He went over to it, rested his chin on it, purred, and waged his tail.
After giving up on the pillow, he roamed around some more. At one point he stopped still and silent, then suddenly stuck his head and tail in the air, pitched forward, and let out a LOUD long "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!!, I nearly fell out of my chair :D
So dont be discouraged if your Pleo seems lazy, give him time. We are having SOME FUN NOW!! :D

[pleoguy101]

Woooooo Hooooooo!!!! Last night Morpho was very active :)
I put a fresh charged battery in him, I did wait until it was cold, as suggested by ORION (the battery, not Morpho ;) ) turned him on ("Huh???), and let him loose in the rec. room while I watched Harry Potter on TV. I just let him do his own thing, and didnt pay much attntion to him. He didnt seem to mind my not petting him constantly, and didnt even go to sleep. He walked around quite a bit. He seemed atracted to a small throw pillow I had put on the floor. He went over to it, rested his chin on it, purred, and waged his tail.
After giving up on the pillow, he roamed around some more. At one point he stopped still and silent, then suddenly stuck his head and tail in the air, pitched forward, and let out a LOUD long "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!!, I nearly fell out of my chair :D
So dont be discouraged if your Pleo seems lazy, give him time. We are having SOME FUN NOW!! :D

thats GREAT!!! glad you 2 are having a great time:D!!!!!

[Nats]

thats GREAT!!! glad you 2 are having a great time:D!!!!!

Thank you. How are things going with your Pleo? Is he still sleepy?

[pleoguy101]

I would like to see beat detection, and maybe new reactions when pleo walks into somthing, like instead of growling at it, pleo can turn around and try and kick it.. or pee on it:D LOL

[going86]

lol:P i would like to see those too, but maybe not in the next upgrade. i would like to see a smaller upgrade sooner than a big upgrade later

[ryane]

reaction to colored objects (tracking-playing with whatever it is) and more reactive to sounds-maybe staying awake when there is a lot of noise in the room etc

[MaryJo]

I'd like to see Pleo recognize his name and come when called. I'd also like the robot to play fetch.

[pleoguy101]

Thank you. How are things going with your Pleo? Is he still sleepy?

.. sorta:D but yesterday he stayed up for a whole 2 hours!!!! I'm not sure if that is possible.. but Im really 98% sure he did!!! the other 2%.. I'm crazy LOL:D:)!!!!!!!!

[pleoguy101]

I'd like to see Pleo recognize his name and come when called. I'd also like the robot to play fetch.

ya, voice recognition is a big one, I think we would all like pleo to have that!!!

[kianajade]

Spike and little foot have been awake for over 10 hrs!!
WITHOUT being turned off!
Amazing isnt it? Both of them have!

[Nats]

Spike and little foot have been awake for over 10 hrs!!
WITHOUT being turned off!
Amazing isnt it? Both of them have!

I assume Spike and Little Foot are the names of your Pleos, and not human family members?? :confused:
Because 10 hours???? :eek: :rolleyes: :confused:
Amazing was not the word I had in mind! :D

[pleoguy101]

I have 1 question for UGOBE about pleo now, not with the OS upgrade, ok here it goes... we all know many things pleo can do, but whats happening on the inside of pleo... what is he learning.. IS he learning, is he evolving, or is evolution in the next OS upgrade? how will we dowload the OS upgrade? with USB?? :):confused:

[rckclmbr]

I have 1 question for UGOBE about pleo now, not with the OS upgrade, ok here it goes... we all know many things pleo can do, but whats happening on the inside of pleo... what is he learning.. IS he learning, is he evolving, or is evolution in the next OS upgrade? how will we dowload the OS upgrade? with USB?? :):confused:

I don't think he is "evolving" with the current OS. Also, the software downloads for the OS will be done with the USB cable included in the box, as far as I understand it.

[kianajade]

yeah. Without even being turned off. They've done it multiple times..
I guess they just like to be awake!
Think if I had extra batteries :D
Then theyd be awake 24/7
hehe :D
Plus, what really is awesome, is they dont overheat either.
Awesome battery!

[Nats]

I have 1 question for UGOBE about pleo now, not with the OS upgrade, ok here it goes... we all know many things pleo can do, but whats happening on the inside of pleo... what is he learning.. IS he learning, is he evolving, or is evolution in the next OS upgrade? how will we dowload the OS upgrade? with USB?? :):confused:

When I talked to the folks at Ugobe they told me the OS is updated via the USB cable and not the SD flash card thing. I also cant wait for the update because I am getting a little bored w/ Morpho. I was told we would get a email with instructions on how to upgrade his OS. You will need a free USB port on your PC to patch him in to it. So far, Morpho hasent really "learned" much of anything! :(

[sugarlump]

Blue seems to react so slowly to things but its fun too
walked up to a magazine rack, sttod there for a long time, then look up and growled?
ha, I wish I knew what he was thinking, as if he slowly thought ? whayt the heck is this?
so cool, I love my pleo

[pleoguy101]

When I talked to the folks at Ugobe they told me the OS is updated via the USB cable and not the SD flash card thing. I also cant wait for the update because I am getting a little bored w/ Morpho. I was told we would get a email with instructions on how to upgrade his OS. You will need a free USB port on your PC to patch him in to it. So far, Morpho hasent really "learned" much of anything! :( thanks for the information nats, you too rckclmbr:D!!!!!

[Lily]

I miss him sneeze and yawn, or I didn´t watch out for it enough? :p
It would be nice too, if he would be able to try to crawl up on the lap, I mean al least do the attempt.
But by now I´m happy with my Pleo!

[fancyfont]

would be cute to have our pleo's yawn when the battery is about to go.

[cmadmacs]

would be cute to have our pleo's yawn when the battery is about to go.

That is a good idea.:)

[Nats]

That is a good idea.:)

I like that idea too :)

[pleoWhisperer]

We all yawn when we get tired. Pleo should start yawning as his battery gets low, say 5 minutes or so before he goes to sleep and powers off. That seems like normal behavior and gives us a warning that he's running low on power (as opposed to overheating or sleeping because he's bored/no stimulus).

[pleoguy101]

good idea:D

[pleoguy101]

these are the things that I would LOVE to have pleo to have with his OS upgrade!!!

beat detection

voice recognition

face recognition

and for pleo to be able to know what goes into his mouth meaning (knowing if its his leaf or not)

If UGOBE takes my sugesstions I'm not going to excpect this OS upgrade to come out quickly, just excpecting them to take their time:)

[eric]

sorry pleoguy


ugobe has pointed out that cam on pleos noise is'nt high quailty

face recognition will not work.


colour recognition may work but both need alot of processing power

[Kam]

I would like,to see the Pleo walk faster, even run a bit ( pending better and more available batteries)

I would like to see the Pleo navigate better. My Pleo runs into walls and sometimes takes forever to turn around or doesn't turn around and keeps trying to walk forward then gives up and goes to sleep.

I would like to see the Pleo be able to hop a little ( I wonder if the motors and joints are capable of this?)

I would like to see less sleeping and or random sleeping with pockets of roaming and adventuring.

I would like to see more playful biting

I would like to see a more aggressive side sometimes using quick head movements and body movements.

[pleoguy101]

sorry pleoguy


ugobe has pointed out that cam on pleos noise is'nt high quailty

face recognition will not work.


colour recognition may work but both need alot of processing power

thats fine. if pleo had beat detection I would be SOOO happy!! I wouldn't care if he didn't have face recognition, but.. how about voice recognition:)

[ryane]

i'm still really hoping for ugobe's third law!:D

the three laws of ugobe life forms:

1 feel and convey emotions

2 become aware of itself and it's environment

3 learn and develop over time

that's mainly what i want for the upgrade as well as the ability to track moving colored objects and respond better to sound.

[Caaahl]

i'm still really hoping for ugobe's third law!:D

the three laws of ugobe life forms:

1 feel and convey emotions

2 become aware of itself and it's environment

3 learn and develop over time

that's mainly what i want for the upgrade as well as the ability to track moving colored objects and respond better to sound.

100% /sign :)

[Kam]

I think the Pleo should make fart sounds sometimes, with a little grunt afterwards ay. From it's rear speaker of course. That would be funny wouldn't it? Maybe burp sounds too.

[fancyfont]

Kam, I think they do! Mine does. Anybody else's? It's a riot! Just like babies.

[Kam]

Well I've heard it cough, but not burp and fart

[mweed]

They do far! :)

[fancyfont]

I've had my Pleo since December 25th and fortunate to be able to have him on through the day, except for battery charging. Peeky constantly amazes me with sounds. Just when I think i've heard them all, he comes out with something different.
I know it's pretty difficult for some of the guys out there to sit and cuddle these little creatures, but I really believe we have to work with them alot.
I let Peeky explore on the floor, but I keep him almost at eye level on a table or my desk. Just before I know it's time for his battery to go, I put him in my arms and let him fall asleep.AH,Ah!! So sweet!
So be patient with your Pleo. I really think there are more sounds for you to discover, yet!

[samantha]

This may have already been suggested but a simple tone option so that you can alter the sound tone to make Pleo sound like a female or a male.

[pleoguy101]

This may have already been suggested but a simple tone option so that you can alter the sound tone to make Pleo sound like a female or a male.

well pleos voices change over time.. I think, many have claimed there pleos voice changed, but my pleos voice hasn't changed yet:)

[PleoPet]

The existing Pleo firmware has a feature to change the pitch of the voice. It plays the sound back at a slower or faster speed.
The existing Pleo personality appears to use the feature to lower the voice when it gets "older"
----
You can experiment with pitch shifting with the YAPT program.
Under the "Special" action tab, there are "set pitch" options to change it from 50% (lower pitch) to 200% (chipmonk speed). Any sound or motion+sound played will use the new setting. Change it back to 100% when done. The change is not permanent.

However this simple speedup/slowdown pitch shifting has its limitations. There are more advanced audio processing techniques to pitch shift and otherwise process the audio using a PC and WAV editing tools.
Processing the existing compressed audio is possible, but quality is poor. Ideally UGOBE would release their sound files in high quality format. Current version is only 4 bits per sample.

[misslion]

I have seen my pleo yawn I think they do get sleepy or sluggish when the Battery is got. Wait hang did I see pleo yawn? I think so!

[PleoPrincess78]

As a suggestion, I would like to see Pleo do more negative things. I don't mean just bad behaviors (like say having a temper tantrum, which would be cute), but even more "no" responses.
What I mean is, sometimes if you put the leaf in Pleo's mouth, it should shake it's head and drop it, signaling it doesn't want to play or is just being stubborn.
Sometimes when you pet Pleo, it should growl at you and try to back away, or hunker down and hide it's face (kind of like the sleeping position) to try and avoid touch.
I don't want Pleo to be mean, just to show more ability to choose. Pleo tends to do everything positive, which is great, but maybe that should only be 90% of the time. I would love to see Deena on a full charge one day and just be real moody! LOL (Like she woke up on the wrong side of the leaf...)

:) I think all of this would make Pleo more entertaining and show even more personality. Of course some Pleos may stay sweet and "buttery", but it would be cool if some chose to be more independent and less cuddly.

What do other Pleo owners think? :)

[roschler]

As a suggestion, I would like to see Pleo do more negative things. I don't mean just bad behaviors (like say having a temper tantrum, which would be cute), but even more "no" responses.
What I mean is, sometimes if you put the leaf in Pleo's mouth, it should shake it's head and drop it, signaling it doesn't want to play or is just being stubborn.
Sometimes when you pet Pleo, it should growl at you and try to back away, or hunker down and hide it's face (kind of like the sleeping position) to try and avoid touch.
I don't want Pleo to be mean, just to show more ability to choose. Pleo tends to do everything positive, which is great, but maybe that should only be 90% of the time. I would love to see Deena on a full charge one day and just be real moody! LOL (Like she woke up on the wrong side of the leaf...)

:) I think all of this would make Pleo more entertaining and show even more personality. Of course some Pleos may stay sweet and "buttery", but it would be cool if some chose to be more independent and less cuddly.

What do other Pleo owners think? :)

Claire refuses to be foot tickled and toddles off all the time when I try to make her sit still. It really completes the feeling of her being the precocious baby sister. :)

[roschler]

We all yawn when we get tired. Pleo should start yawning as his battery gets low, say 5 minutes or so before he goes to sleep and powers off. That seems like normal behavior and gives us a warning that he's running low on power (as opposed to overheating or sleeping because he's bored/no stimulus).

My Pleos yawn as soon as I start talking! :D

[blablablabla4]

One simple thing and that Pleo would be perfect except for the eczema and his poor hearing and site I would like for him to recognize his name and come when called. If you call his name he should follow your voice. He doesn't have to recognize the voice, just the speech pattern and I know thier is enough space for that. As for beat detection, that removes all realism from him being an animal.

[Siren]

A lot of that is in the works, from what I heard. Ugobe plans most if not all that in future upgrades.

And beat detection is realistic in animals.
Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j_fxs8mUcQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYa8KmpvF84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnFV-fvgOu0&NR=1


Don't forget, according to evolution, birds are dinosaurs, so beat detection is realistic and cute as far as I am concerned.

There is also this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCAbF9577Mc
If we can teach a dog to dance to a beat, then why not a dinosaur?

[pleoguy101]

I would love pleos to have beat detection!!!:)

[fancyfont]

That would be fun to see.:)

[Siren]

I also want beat detection in Pleo. If you have several Pleos, maybe you can have a chorus line ;)

[cmadmacs]

that would be cool.

[ryane]

As a suggestion, I would like to see Pleo do more negative things. I don't mean just bad behaviors (like say having a temper tantrum, which would be cute), but even more "no" responses.
What I mean is, sometimes if you put the leaf in Pleo's mouth, it should shake it's head and drop it, signaling it doesn't want to play or is just being stubborn.
Sometimes when you pet Pleo, it should growl at you and try to back away, or hunker down and hide it's face (kind of like the sleeping position) to try and avoid touch.
I don't want Pleo to be mean, just to show more ability to choose. Pleo tends to do everything positive, which is great, but maybe that should only be 90% of the time. I would love to see Deena on a full charge one day and just be real moody! LOL (Like she woke up on the wrong side of the leaf...)

:) I think all of this would make Pleo more entertaining and show even more personality. Of course some Pleos may stay sweet and "buttery", but it would be cool if some chose to be more independent and less cuddly.

What do other Pleo owners think? :)

i think thats a really good idea! i agree that our pleos don't act negitively enough. pleo needs a greater spread in his moods. it would fill out his personality for the better. maybe in life os 1.1?

[bologdl]

I would like to see some simple voice reconigtion commands added to Pleo. Ex. Stop ,backup, walk or come here and Pleo follows the sound.

[Falseprophet666]

i think thats a really good idea! i agree that our pleos don't act negitively enough. pleo needs a greater spread in his moods. it would fill out his personality for the better. maybe in life os 1.1?

That would be awesome! That would so be more realistic. Maybe thats part of the personality development. If you're a real jerk to your pleo, he becomes a nasty little boy, and you need to calm him down, just like White Fang!

[pleoguy101]

That would be awesome! That would so be more realistic. Maybe thats part of the personality development. If you're a real jerk to your pleo, he becomes a nasty little boy, and you need to calm him down, just like White Fang!

these are awsome ideas that hopefully are noticed by UGOBE:)!!!

[Aussie_Pleo]

I think it would be really neat if Ugobe introduced simple voice command recognition in the next Life OS update. They could be such things as 'come', 'walk', 'sing', 'sleep'

What do you guys think?

[fancyfont]

That would be so cool if our Pleos would come to us if called. At least I would have one pet that does.:) The other two pretend not to hear or they run the other way:D

[ryane]

i can't seem to get my pleo to sit. he's running life os version 1.1. could this possibly be a bug? i hope it can be fixed in 1.1.2

all in all i love the update but i'd like to see the current features running flawless. the fact that pleo can now

recognize his leaf is quite amazing. he must be simply recognizing the color green? pleo's life os is definitely

headed in the right direction i just hope they refine it as much as possible. oh and what about a software

tool to view pleo's states and other info (os running, current mood, current drive, ect)?!! voice rec? come here pleo!

LOL...well never mind that last one just do your best to deliver what you can! thanks for everything so far

ugobe!!!!!:D

[fancyfont]

Ryane, Did you give him a little push on his bottom while at the same time pushing up under his chin. He may just need a little hand.:)

[ryane]

Ryane, Did you give him a little push on his bottom while at the same time pushing up under his chin. He may just need a little hand.:)

yeah, this is what i've been doing. the odd thing is that it worked before i did either of the updates. of course pleo wasn't animated while sitting as he's descibed to be now.

[ryane]

i got my pleo to sit today. i guess it just takes a little patience. i still hope to see everything refined and added upon though.;)

i'm always seeing new behaviors with him. when i had pleo on today he got scared while approaching my bed then later he got sick! great work ugobe!!:D

[Falseprophet666]

Just as long as Pleo isnt completely dependent on the voice commands like that horrid emote-thingy Furby. The last thing I would want would be pleo sitting and waiting for me to say "sit", like a little robot.

[pleoguy101]

Rocky will still eat anything.. does there need to be a lot of light for him to recognize the leaf? how will I be able to tell if Rocky recognizes the leaf or not? thanks:)!!!

[Siren]

I hope for beat detection in the next update.

I would also love one day for them to recognize a kiss. I kiss them on the face all the time when they nuzzle me. It would be so nice if they could understand that. Be it recognize the sound, or see how close my face is, or understand the feeling. No idea if such a thing is possible, but it would help with the illusion of them being alive.

[pleoguy101]

It probably is possible.. If pleo is somehow able to have voice and face recognition you could say "kiss" and pleo could bring his face closer to yours.. but I'm not sure if this is possible with pleo or not.. if it isn't. I'm sure UGOBE is looking into this stuff for their next creation:)

[degers]

Yeah, I've been wanting to say remember that pleo is UGOBEs first creation, we can't expect everything to be perfect in Pleo, and not everything is correctable/addable with the software upgrades only, so just wait and see what UGOBE comes up with in their next release of creation.

[Fireboy]

This should be possible. The technology to do this has been used in mobile phones (voice commands used to call a particular phone number) for a while now. It should be possible to assign certain words to certain Pleo actions. You may have too programme in these words and actions beforehand ,the same way you do with a mobile phone.
For example at the moment you can get your Pleo to sit by touching two of his sensors but it should be possible to programme him to Sit when you actually say the word sit. The only question then is would it be possible to have this on continously (so he responds whenever you say one of the words) without him getting confused when there is other noises. And without it eating up too much of his processing power or battery life.

[degers]

FIREBOY, You are from JERSEY??? I am from GUERNSEY!!! WOOPP WOOP CHANNEL ISLANDS!

[denodan]

Voice recognition does not always work to well. Sometimes when you use voice commands on cellphones they don't often get it right. I have RD D2 which uses voice recognition and does not work to well either. So Please no voice recogntion for Pleo.

It does not work to well at all, also if there is noise around that really mucks it up.

[Aussie_Pleo]

Well we have to have something that will make our Pleo's seem more responsive. I have to admit I'm getting a little bored with the same predictability. I mean if I'm only going to get one hour a day (after charging the battery for 4.5 hours I can't be bothered lol) I'd like that hour to be more fulfilling.

[andreivc]

how about making pleo aware of it's environment for a change?
(touch detection is good; but c'mon, where's the promised object detection - and interaction)

also, since I am on a roll here :)
what's the point of aimless wondering around? go forward - bump - back up, turn left.... go forward - bupm--back up - turn left = NOT FUN!!!!

if you want Pleo to really explore, make him 1. See something - 2. Investigate it! NOT mindless wabling around...this got old very quickly

[blablablabla4]

If he would just come when he is called would be cool enough for me.

[andreivc]

yeah, we cannot expect anything to be perfect;
but should not they deliver the product that they promised? where is the awareness? where is the learning?

[Mark0ne]

I had a thought that if pleo was near a patch of sunlight on the carpet and detected it - he could navigate towards it by backing up and turning as he does now to avoid objects and move into the sun himself? He could make the pleasure noises and stretch his neck/tail ect, maybe even go to sleep like my cats!! THAT would be interaction with the environment

[pleoguy101]

I had a thought that if pleo was near a patch of sunlight on the carpet and detected it - he could navigate towards it by backing up and turning as he does now to avoid objects and move into the sun himself? He could make the pleasure noises and stretch his neck/tail ect, maybe even go to sleep like my cats!! THAT would be interaction with the environment

that would be cool:)

[fancyfont]

Providing the sun doesn't harm Pleo's skin(rubber) this would be cute. I've been a little more protective and move Peeky out of direct sun rays.

[andreivc]

Mark0ne,
I agree, this would be cool.

[andreivc]

What happened to this vision?

ROBOT: How would you describe Pleo’s ability to learn?

JOHN SOSOKA: We want the creature to adapt to its environment—more like a life-form. If you play with him a certain way, we want him to adapt to that. So if you play rough with Pleo, he will get used to that and start thinking it’s fun.

I hope Ugobe won't abandon the original concept...

[Caaahl]

I had a thought that if pleo was near a patch of sunlight on the carpet and detected it - he could navigate towards it by backing up and turning as he does now to avoid objects and move into the sun himself? He could make the pleasure noises and stretch his neck/tail ect, maybe even go to sleep like my cats!! THAT would be interaction with the environment

Look what Helge did the other day. :o

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1575/sunrayswu2.jpg

It was a coincidence, of course, but i remembered your suggestion and had to make a picture of that. :p

[pleoguy101]

LOL! thats cute:)

[junkroxy]

I really wish to play tug-of-war like in the first Os 1.0. It seems that Pleo was really able to know when eat his leaf or when to play tug-of-war with my finger, socks or other objects. Now he eats all the things i offered to him. This is my only suggestion, 'cos i love all the new features - motion, sounds, etc. - in the Os 1.1.;)

[Caaahl]

Oh, there is much more to improve. :p

"Hearing" for example (Helge is stll deaf) and object detection with some kind of at least slow object tracking.

[Siren]

Yeah, my Pleos eat my finger too :P

I want beat detection most of all.

[andreivc]

and less jerky
more fluid movements


more variety of sounds

more free will - some more 'negative' reactions like 'don't pet me anymore' kinda thing

more shorter steps versions - one step forward, one step back
and please get rid of the long, canned backing up sequence.....when pleo moan, lowers its head and backs up - it's so canned and scrypted, happens the same way all the time, becomes like a marker in the interaction experience, ruins the illusion of having a variety of responses

it's better to have a lot of short, various motion sequences and sounds than to have several big and extended ones like backing up...

also, the same "uh?" sound when pleo is suddenly touched or detects an obstacle is becoming annoying for the same reason....

and finally, give pleo a reason to venture on exploration runs - like spotting a dark or a brigh spot, or finding his favorite color. Mindless exploring and discovering of walls is BORING... seriously....

and finally finally, make pleo fall in love with some intense color... or learn to hate some color.... but please make it so that it is event-triggered, not scripted... Like when one day pleo sees a patch of intense color, he permanently remembers to like or hate it, based on mood at the moment, whateve. But so that each pleo likes or hates his own color (not scripted, not all like pink, or all hate blue...) you know? this will be true individuallity right there.

Thanks!

[junkroxy]

andreivc you have a lots or requests! maybe we should start for one request for every member...:p

[pleoguy101]

some things I am about to mention have already been mentioned but I like the ideas too:).. I would LOVE pleo to have beat detection! better object recogniton, "maybe some kind of memory where he remembers objects or colors etc he does and doesn't like, refusing to eat fingers would be good too, I thought the camarasurous was a plant eater?:) not walking aimlessly around the room, actually trying to find or investigate somthing... basicly I think he should be more aware of his enviroment. better hearing too. If I scream or make a huge noise, Rocky will act as if nothing happened.. and only sometimes he will slowly turn his head to see what happened..

[andreivc]

what can i say? much more was promised than i am asking for... ;)

[junkroxy]

more free will - some more 'negative' reactions like 'don't pet me anymore' kinda thing
Thanks!

This reactions happened to Glen several times... maybe your pleo loves to be petted more!;)

[hobbesi]

I think I can use one word to sum up how I hope to see pleo developed. I think its possible with the existing technology (if not please correct me)

Goals

Pleo should have goals. Now I’m not talking complex goals. Like being the first robot dinosaur to be elected for president. But simple goals driven by his emotions and dictating his actions.

Here’s an example

Lets say Pleo decides he’s hungry. That emotion gives Pleo a goal. Which is to have something put in his mouth so he can eat. (Now obviously a robot doesn’t NEED to eat, the whole point of this goal is to initiate interaction) This goal is going to effect everything Pleo does until he succeeds

Pleo begs for food (the ah, ah, sound)

I’m going to be a jerk and not give Pleo anything to eat.

Pleo wait’s a bit, then begs some more (ah ah, ah ah, ah ah)

Pleo gets frustrated, he now no longer responds to other stimuli like petting and trick inputs

Pleo looks around, and sees movement, pleo fixates on, and walks toward that movement (it could be me, or an osculating fan.. It doesn’t matter, Pleo can’t tell the difference) and begs for food.

I’m still going to be a jerk and not give anything to eat.

Pleo gets utterly annoyed and goes to sleep. But remains “hungry”

When pleo is awakened he is grouchy, and will only beg for food and complain

I give pleo his leaf. He chomps away. His goal is met and he moves on to another emotion, and a new goal

Pleo is now “full” and when given his leaf again will either play tug of war, or simply spit it out.

Now the gaol here was a basic pleo interaction (putting something in his mouth) each “goal” for pleo would be different, but all encourage basic interaction. If pleo is in a playful mood he’ll want to play tug of war, or be tickled. If pleo is in a loving mood he will coo for attention and want to be petted and cuddled etc. Each mood encourages, action, and each action effects the next mood.

There seems to be a bit of this going on right now. But to much of what Pleo does seems arbitrary. Hunger that can’t be fulfilled (despite an endless supply of “food”) is pointless, exploration without discovery is pointless. And life forms are never pointless.

[pirpintine]

i think having simple goals is a good idea. it would add much more to the pleo life form idea i think :D

exactly how bad is the pleo camera? i cant seem to get an idea of what its capable of.... well if pleo can now recognise his leaf, i suppose he must be capable of recognising, and responding to other colours/shapes? imnot talking facial recognition, pe se, but perhaps the recognition of what might be a persons face ie: a ovalish fleshy colour. and respond to that as a person, and perhaps act all happy towards it (or moody, i suppose, depending on how you treat pleo)

does pleo have any recognition of moving objects, or is the camera frame rate not quick enough? i suppose as i dont know, but if its quick enough maybe pleo should respond to a sudden moving object? like say if my cat was lay down in front of pleo, and then the cat got up and walked off, pleo should act confused at the sudden movement etc? if its not possible thats fine, just an idea :)

i do think some form of voice recognition would be good in an ideal world. nothing massive or unfeasable for an 'animal' to respond to. just his/her name and maybe very simple things like sit on command (maybe a gradually taught thing? you put the pleo into a sit position, then say 'sit' and praise with petting, or maybe a 'good girl/boy' comand and eventually the pleo will assiciate the word with the trick?) maybe its a bit to complex, im not sure what pleos hardware is totally capable of. either way, ugobe seem to be doing a good job so far. keep it up :D

[jamie626]

i like pleos and ugobe there a good company and i hope they make loads more roboctics and toy even i dont have a pleo yet there fun

[mh7ah]

I agree with the Basic Commands Idea. It would be fantastic if Pleo could respond to maybe 5 simple commands like sit, shake hands, come here, trick (balance) and respond to his/her name.

[Sean77408]

It would also be nice if Pleo could recognize different colors and Pleos could have favorite colors. The way you would tell what a Pleo's favorite color is, would be that the Pleo reacts happily to the color.

[Falseprophet666]

I don't like the voice command idea. That would make him less lifelike and more like a robotic toy. I like having an autonomous little rascal prowling my floor. When I yell at him not to do something, it adds to the cuteness, because I know hes just gonna unplug my internet again.

[pleoWhisperer]

I disagree about the "less lifelike". Most dogs recognize and understand a few phrases. Cats recognize certain sounds (like a can opener :) ) and probably do understand a few phrases but chose to ignore them ;) A number of birds can also learn commands.

To me, having a pleo that responds to s few commands moves him into the class of smarter "pets" rather than being just a dumb animal.

[Sean77408]

I disagree about the "less lifelike". Most dogs recognize and understand a few phrases. Cats recognize certain sounds (like a can opener :) ) and probably do understand a few phrases but chose to ignore them ;) A number of birds can also learn commands.

To me, having a pleo that responds to s few commands moves him into the class of smarter "pets" rather than being just a dumb animal.

I agree. Pleo should respond to their name (like some real animals do). You could program the name by saying it to your Pleo offten. I don't think that Pleo should be able to reconize commands out of the box, it should be able to learn voice commands over time. That would make Pleo more like a real life form. :)

[mh7ah]

I do think that facial and hand recognition would be brilliant. Instead of Pleo just looking round/staring at anything I think he would feel a lot more realistic if he could detect a human face/hand and respond.

It would be nice if he came to you when he is called although it might take a while lol :). Thats one thing i love about pets. Even our rats come when they are called but they do expect a treat out of it!! I say rats but we only have one now as his brother died recently :(

[junkroxy]

My suggestions is better sounds recognition (noise, voice, name: maybe after program his/her name after the upgrade!??) and the old tug-o-war! I love my Pleo but i hope these little requests comes true!

[junkroxy]

I think I can use one word to sum up how I hope to see pleo developed. I think its possible with the existing technology (if not please correct me)

Goals

Pleo should have goals. Now I’m not talking complex goals. Like being the first robot dinosaur to be elected for president. But simple goals driven by his emotions and dictating his actions.

Here’s an example

Lets say Pleo decides he’s hungry. That emotion gives Pleo a goal. Which is to have something put in his mouth so he can eat. (Now obviously a robot doesn’t NEED to eat, the whole point of this goal is to initiate interaction) This goal is going to effect everything Pleo does until he succeeds

Pleo begs for food (the ah, ah, sound)

I’m going to be a jerk and not give Pleo anything to eat.

Pleo wait’s a bit, then begs some more (ah ah, ah ah, ah ah)

Pleo gets frustrated, he now no longer responds to other stimuli like petting and trick inputs

Pleo looks around, and sees movement, pleo fixates on, and walks toward that movement (it could be me, or an osculating fan.. It doesn’t matter, Pleo can’t tell the difference) and begs for food.

I’m still going to be a jerk and not give anything to eat.

Pleo gets utterly annoyed and goes to sleep. But remains “hungry”

When pleo is awakened he is grouchy, and will only beg for food and complain

I give pleo his leaf. He chomps away. His goal is met and he moves on to another emotion, and a new goal

Pleo is now “full” and when given his leaf again will either play tug of war, or simply spit it out.

Now the gaol here was a basic pleo interaction (putting something in his mouth) each “goal” for pleo would be different, but all encourage basic interaction. If pleo is in a playful mood he’ll want to play tug of war, or be tickled. If pleo is in a loving mood he will coo for attention and want to be petted and cuddled etc. Each mood encourages, action, and each action effects the next mood.

There seems to be a bit of this going on right now. But to much of what Pleo does seems arbitrary. Hunger that can’t be fulfilled (despite an endless supply of “food”) is pointless, exploration without discovery is pointless. And life forms are never pointless.

I missed these suggestions, but i think they are very important and helpful! :-0

[pleoguy101]

I absolutly agree!! this is a genuis suggestion hobbesi!! It makes you think all the goals animals have. sometimes my dogs goal can to get the ball when I throw it, my fish's usual main goal is to get the food I drop into the pond, my bunnys usual goal is to destroyt and chew my carpet to pieces "wich I do NOT enjoy:D" , my frogs usual goal is to get the food I drop into the tank, and to mate, and have little tadpoles:D my crested geckos usualy goal is to climb, and to jump to a certain branch. my leopard geckos goal is usually to catch the crickets in the tank.. then I think.. what is pleos goal?

[Allosaurus]

My suggestions is better sounds recognition (noise, voice, name: maybe after program his/her name after the upgrade!??) and the old tug-o-war! I love my Pleo but i hope these little requests comes true!

Name Recognization! Yes! DEFINITE name recognization! Olympia usually puts her head towards me when I call out her name, but no one believes me and that was just usually, not all the time.

[pirpintine]

thread revival!

yes. a few commands to recognice would make pleo much more pet like. even my chinchilla responds to his name. if prgramming pleo to recognice human features as a shape would be too hard (the camera not good enough? or processor?) then flesh colour blob recognition would be just as alright at adding an effect of him recognising people. i think 210 aibos only recognice 'people' as flesh colours, and respond by shaking hands etc.

im a bit confused as to how ugobe would make it possible forpleo to respond to a name without some kind of 'name registration, command, which i doubp pleos 'hearing' could cope with... but im sure theres a way somehow.

but simple one word commands im sure must be programmable, like 'hello' or 'bye' could invoke a response, and maybe 'sing' or 'dance' for simple tricks and so on. id agee that adding a large amount of voice commands would deter form the pat persona pleos have, and be more roboty, but a few little things would add to his pet-ness, and be more endearing. :)