* Sugestions- what i want to see in next version

[jmdecombe]

I am not sure where the proper place is to post such suggestions, so please let me know. Anyway, here is a first suggestion. Although I like the idea of Pleo as just a digital pet, I would also like it to be useful since it can be so by virtue of being digital. I think that such utility could be designed so that it also makes Pleo feel closer to a real being. And therefore, it would help further the establishment of Pleo as the first in a dynasty of products, rather than merely a fad.

For instance, it would be great if Pleo could be connected to the Internet through Wifi at all times, as it would infinitely expand its range of possibilities. It could process simple vocal queries in natural language through a variety of Web services to deliver the desired results. For instance, if I say "what's 45 multiplied by 71?", it would pass the query to Google and return the result through speech synthesis as Google returns it "3195". Or if I say "what is the height of Mount Everest?", it would pass the query to Ask.com and return the result, i.e. "Mount Everest is 29,035 feet high."

You should also be able to personalize and tune the voice you want to give to your Pleo, from a selection of fun, cartoon-sounding voices.

[hardyfoster]

what you mention would be useful, but i don't think that's their "target". the papero robot (though not being sold) is made so it can function like you mentioned.

[cmadmacs]

Plus the cost for the pleo would be higher. Great idea though.

[mweed]

I do recall reading articles last year where Ugobe was considering other wireless connections to computers (besides the limited IR), like BlueTooth or wi-fi. Don't know why they didn't ,except for cost reasons.

[pleoguy101]

I REALLY THINK PLEOS BATTERY SHOULD LAST LONGER!!!!! 1 hour is just not enough, I have given many excamples why on other threads, but seems like a good place to put one... If you were going somewhere for say... seven hours and you brought pleo, dont you think you would want him around for more than less than a quarter of the time??? I think pleos battery life should last atleast 4 or 5 hours possibly the whole day and charge all night... I hope pleo has voice recognition too so he can reconize who you are and other people too,to tell if he likes them or doesn't like them, but the battery life is a little more important though. atleast pleo can understand voice tone!!

[hardyfoster]

i don't think anyone has been pursuing battery life for robots yet. i wish they would. as it stands, this is an average length of time these types of batteries last. maybe there should be a spot to fill pleo up with some gas or something. 92 octane. hmm.....i think i'm onto something.

[cmadmacs]

How about ethenol instead? I'm not sure how to spell it.

[amjoie]

How about ethenol instead? I'm not sure how to spell it.

... or just feed him the corn. LOL

[mweed]

... or just feed him the corn. LOL

http://meaninguvlife.com/pleo/comics/hacks/pea20070724.jpg

[amjoie]

ROTFLOL!

You just did that, right? It isn't the way it really appeared in the newspaper (online), is it? LOL

[mweed]

ROTFLOL!

You just did that, right? It isn't the way it really appeared in the newspaper (online), is it? LOL

Yep. That's yesterday's strip. All I did was replace Snoopy with Pleo. But it worked sooo well with your "feed him the corn" post.

http://www.snoopy.com/comics/peanuts/archive/images/peanuts2052374070724.gif

[amjoie]

Yep. That's yesterday's strip. All I did was replace Snoopy with Pleo. But it worked sooo well with your "feed him the corn" post.

Heh heh. I think Pleo is cuter. :p

I'm still laughing. :D

[pleoguy101]

thats cool how you do that mweed but I have a question totally off topic of replacing snoopy with pleo, "even though thats pretty funny!:D " if someone was really mean and had no common sence and decided to walk over to a robot "pleo" and close his mouth shut, would noise still come out of his mouth? or will you hear grumbles and growls.. I had this robot once and my friend put his hands over its mouth, and It was still talking regulary, like nothing was happening.

[mweed]

thats cool how you do that mweed but I have a question totally off topic of replacing snoopy with pleo, "even though thats pretty funny!:D " if someone was really mean and had no common sence and decided to walk over to a robot "pleo" and close his mouth shut, would noise still come out of his mouth? or will you hear grumbles and growls.. I had this robot once and my friend put his hands over its mouth, and It was still talking regulary, like nothing was happening.

Closing his mouth would not physically alter the sound coming out of the built-in speaker. But, pleo does have an IR interrupt sensor in his mouth, touch sensors on the top of his head and under his chin, as well as sensors on the motors used to drive the gears, so technically, pleo can be programmed to recognize when his mouth is being forcibly held closed, and respond accordingly, including different noises.

Now, whether Ugobe has done that, we'll just have to see if we can get someone from Ugobe to answer....

[alibaba]

I don't know how realistic that would be - from my experience my cat always made WAY more noise when you held her mouth shut! I only did it if she had to swallow pills from the vet (I'm not a mean person) but she could manage a great range of yowls, screeches and grumbles even with her mouth closed.

I think it says pleo can tell if his joints are being 'forcibly moved' and doesn't like it, so he can probably tell if his mouth is being 'forcibly' held shut or if any of his joint movements are being interfered with.

AB

[pleoguy101]

I was thinking pleo should start as an egg.. maybe inside or on the side of th box it could show whats inside the egg, a baby camarasaurous,"pleo" then it should have those arrows showing all the stuff inside pleo, like the IR sensors etc. there could be a hole in the egg that you plug it in that the cord that you just plugged into the egg is actually pleos cord hole, like that cord that everyone has when there born, where your belly button is.. and then after pleos charged, he could be programed for that one time in his life to push and slap the egg open, and if he cant get out, then it could be easily opened by people. is this a good idea? or more work for ugobe? what do you think?;)

[going86]

it would be a little to bid to fit in an egg, but it sounds like a good idea. it may be hard to make it so that pleo can break out of it while it does not beak when you pick it up.

[amjoie]

I'm not sure it would be possible to pull off a convincing "egg hatching" process.

But it might be fun if Ugobe sold "cracked open eggshells" made out of some kind of polymer, that we could purchase for display near Pleo's nest. I'm thinking a dinosaur eggshell would look good on a wood stand under a plexiglass cover, with a small brass tag (engraved with the name and hatching date of a particular Pleo).

Eggshells could come in a few different shapes/paint treatments, so that if you need two or three, they would look unique, on display.

Or, even if all eggshells were the same, the two halves could be arranged differently, with different sides of the shell showing, in combination, to make the display appear unique.

I think this would be a very fun accessory for a Pleo. :)

[going86]

I'm not sure it would be possible to pull off a convincing "egg hatching" process.


Eggshells could come in a few different shapes/paint treatments, so that if you need two or three, they would look unique, on display.

Or, even if all eggshells were the same, the two halves could be arranged differently, with different sides of the shell showing, in combination, to make the display appear unique.



that also sounds like a good idea. i think that other companies would make that, not ugobe. although it would be nice to get one that was personalized

[mweed]

But it might be fun if Ugobe sold "cracked open eggshells" made out of some kind of polymer, that we could purchase for display near Pleo's nest.

I think broken eggshell parts would make neat packing materials. You open the box and there's your pleo surrounded by the broken eggshell, looking like he/she hatched during shipping. The egg shell pieces could then be used to decorate you pleo's "nest". :D

[cmadmacs]

Great idea. On youtube one of the videos has pleo with a broken egg shell in the background.

[pleoguy101]

it would be a little to bid to fit in an egg, but it sounds like a good idea. it may be hard to make it so that pleo can break out of it while it does not beak when you pick it up.

well think of how big a dinosaur egg really was, just make the egg out of weak plastic and put a pleo inside and he"ll be ready to go!!! but I do like mweeds idea, the egg shell around pleo in his box.:)

[cmadmacs]

I think egg shells in the nest is a good idea too.

[roschler]

Ok, how many people now are seeing in their heads that amazing scene in the movie "Jurassic Park" where the baby dinosaur is poking his little nose out of the egg shell? At least this time it would be a cute harmless baby dinosaur and not a VELOCIRAPTOR! :eek:

[cmadmacs]

We hope. In October mankind becomes prey to Pleo.

[amjoie]

We hope. In October mankind becomes prey to Pleo.

Yup. He'll melt us all with those beautiful baby blues ....

[Gobi]

Pleo will remain the size of a 2-week old Camarasaurus forever. He will always be a baby for us. What about putting his charger in an "egg" case? That could be used as a travel case as well?

[pleoguy101]

good idea!! no one will ever suspect thats where super pleo is hiding:D!!!!

[cmadmacs]

Once again some good ideas.

[pleoguy101]

ok,thanks for the info!!:)

[cmadmacs]

I would be scared to put any forcible stress on the joints. If it breaks The warrenty wouldn't cover it.

[mweed]

I would be scared to put any forcible stress on the joints. If it breaks The warrenty wouldn't cover it.

I agree I wouldn't want to do anything that might damage the little guy physically, but I thought that was one of the reasons that the motors have stress sensors (like when you pull on his leg): to let him know before the gears get broken or stripped. And I would think the mouth would have some "strength" since it has to clap down to play tug-of-war. Of course, it could be like an alligator; lots of jaw muscle to "close" the mouth, not a lot to "open". :eek:

Anyway, I would always advise going gently at first to see what its limitations are...

[cmadmacs]

very good advice mweed.

[Pleocol]

--- 1-- Speed it seems pleos can not move, exaple he stays in one place. He just stay around the same 2 feet square area! he should be more adventures so he can go from my room to study or the kitchen and remember places in the house with a piece of sofware and be able to tell him where his room is

--2--- the next version should have gel pads, and because wear-tear can occour it shoul be easy to put extras, that will stop the noise of the plastic when he steps.

-3-- be able to have at lest theree kinds of speed, slow, for waking up, normal for walking and fast walking for moving from room to another when he OS says u haven been in quite will in the kitchen--- what is there for me? or i heard someting in that direction i want to take look at it, ohh im scared i should run far away from that noise. etc

-4--- the better he reponds and quicly to the touch, sounds, it will more natual, im looking for pet robot, that reponds, I cannot have a real pet coz that is in human if travel and they are not as clean as a robot.

--5-- improve battery technology, maybe installing 2 batteries, 1 back up, and the regular one. ALso the backup batter could recharche 4 small batteries that are located in the legs. via wired system. So the leg batteries detect that they are slow and the backbuck batter recharges then.. the os says batter back needs to be charged and then we can recharge the backup battery.. something like that. So when he aslepps he can breath with the back-up battery while we are charcing the main battery! I want at least to play 6hours with robot, in real life dogs or cats are awake and not sleeping that much! so that no resemable a life-form

-6-- Wifi coneection, and voice to spech reconginiton, face recognition, voice commads etc, ALSO a OS that sometime in a whiele makes somethin different every 1000 actions... ramdoly.. Like i got sick and caufh, or sneeze, or i get super imperative i went to the kichen and my study 3 times then dance.. something like that.. we humans we dont do the same 100 actions the same thing.. for example now im typoin before i was eating break fast and so on.. we do like a billion actios in our life-spam, make pleo at least do some intersting actions once in a while for a change. The element of SURPRISE hehehe.


-7-- ok the leaf is good but also make him and egg that he can roll and play.. because that might unborn brother and he wants to play with the egg.

-8- bigger size is always better make him 50% much bigger hehe.. so u have room for the extra batteries and ons

--9-- I hope in the future the skin will have more sensors, and heat so it is more natural, kind touchscrenn sensitveness whereu u touch it appers, i know it is a screen but same techonlogy cannot be applied in the skin? if not more sensor patches.

--10--- if he can perform as an agenda, wake up clock, that will be nice. so u record ur name... HEy (yor name) wake up! something like that

--11- the new pleo should reconize the other version as friend or brother so they can talk. i hope it is much bigger also the small one should be available for the ones who wants the small version! coz some people want to carry them in their purse like Paris hilton carries his dog hahaha.

--12--- Thats all i just one even numbers hahaha... no more..... for the moment. bye and thanks;)

[junkroxy]

Yours are great suggestions, but i'm not agree for some of your points... For the "walk" mode of Pleo, i could tell you Pleo moves around the place he stay, he's not static, but as a baby-dinosaur do he doesn't walk very speedy :rolleyes: i don't think it would be great to have a bigger pleo: he's very BIG, trust me, since i saw pleo in person! If you want to take him on travel you'll get a van for gigantic dinobot!
i like your suggestion about remembering the pleo-name! :D

[going86]

different pleos do reconize each other. also, pleo can walk around. he has many sensors all around his body. but otherwise, i think that your suggestions are good

[mweed]

I like the idea of the egg as a toy for him to roll around. But it would have to have some electronics in it so that Pleo recognizes the egg as *His* toy. Not just another ball.

[richyroolahs]

I'm hoping that the next version of Pleo or maybe a Special Edition version has a bluetooth data link facility.

If this feature was a reality, it would mean that Pleo would not need a USB port on him and you would be able to download updates and software to him wirelessly. The bluetooth may also be refined for use in long-distance orientation such as; knowing what part of the house it was in judging by the distance from his bed/ food bowl/ charging station, etc.

I would like to see such a feature used for telepresence experiments where the user could check up on their Pleo over the internet, control him, and even access his tiny camera for a Pleos-eye-view of his surrounding. The possibilities would be huge.

[amjoie]

I'm hoping that the next version of Pleo or maybe a Special Edition version has a bluetooth data link facility.

If this feature was a reality, it would mean that Pleo would not need a USB port on him and you would be able to download updates and software to him wirelessly. The bluetooth may also be refined for use in long-distance orientation such as; knowing what part of the house it was in judging by the distance from his bed/ food bowl/ charging station, etc.

I would like to see such a feature used for telepresence experiments where the user could check up on their Pleo over the internet, control him, and even access his tiny camera for a Pleos-eye-view of his surrounding. The possibilities would be huge.

This all presumes, of course, that Pleo can be awakened, and put back to sleep remotely; as well as being self-charging in a way that is almost "without fail." Otherwise, there isn't much use being able to communicate remotely, if he is out of battery power, or sound asleep, and will stay that way until someone returns home. ;)

[pleoWhisperer]

Well, if they replaced the battery with a cold fusion engine, he wouldn't need to be recharged...

[richyroolahs]

I see what you mean about battery life and the fact that you would not be able to "wake" pleo once he is asleep, but I think there is still scope for breakthroughs. One solution could be an electromagnetic inductor that pleo simply lays across and charges himself that way. That would make it much harder to miss, unlike the complicated docking systems that were pioneered by Sony and Silverlit with their robotic dogs.
From what I have heard, Pleo has quite a formidable brain inside him with several sub-processing capabilities so who knows, software might allow more refined tracking and orientation in future. I hope so!

I'm not saying that Ugobe should strive to achieve something that they have clearly cast aside, ie the charging station, though it would be very interesting to see what emerges from the home-brew community.

I'm guessing that with the correct drivers Pleo could utylise a blue-tooth dongle as he is (via the USB port). That would be a fun thing to explore.

I'm excited to see what comes of the "speech recognition" question that is currently buzzing about in the forums. Ugobe are reported to have said that they have no plans to release a speech recognition feature for Pleo, though he is theoretically capable of performing it with the correct software, as he has a dedicated sound processor instead of a simple sound sensor. Interesting!

I suggested that Ugobe should release a book on Pleos development through the years and they seemed quite interested in the idea. I look forward to seeing that, and my new Pleo when he arrives. lol

[amjoie]

Well, if they replaced the battery with a cold fusion engine, he wouldn't need to be recharged...

If they had a cold fusion engine, they wouldn't be messing around with mere Pleos ... ;) :cool:

richyroolahs, your book suggestion is a good one. I hope they do that. I sure would be interested!

[mweed]

I don't know about Bluetooth, but at one time Ugobe had played with the idea of wireless connectivity. Maybe in the next version they can expand on the hardware capability.

[happycamper]

Although there are many adults and robot aficionados on this forum, I hope UGOBE remembers that no one loves dinosaurs more than kids. A baby dino coming to life is the dream of many a grade school boy. This product is in the same price range as many gaming systems that kids in that age group already own. If the creators of Pleo remember that these kids are current customers as well as likely consumers of UGOBE's future and ever more sophisticated life forms, they will make Pleo's updates downloadable and comprehensible to a young audience that is already computer literate. It is an opportunity to teach the young generation about robotics and AI, while creating enthusiasm for UGOBE products. Please make the programming user-friendly for young kids and not simply something that experienced hackers can handle. Can you imagine a kid being able to go on his computer and train his pet robot to do a trick or alter it's behavior by entering the correct sequence of codes? What an unforgettable learning experience. Robotics will play a huge part in the future of our civilization. Getting kids involved in the development and "evolution" of Pleo is a win-win prospect for UGOBE and for the children. Parents will definitely be more willing to spend $350 on a "toy" if it has some educational value. Of course, the educational aspect should not be overt, but it is already intrinsic in a programmable pet. Sooooo much better than anything like the Lego Mindstorms which is frankly beyond the ability of most parents and many younger kids. A child who may not be motivated to build a complex toy from a kit would certainly be enthusiastic about giving new abilities to a beloved baby Camarasaurus.

[PleoWorldHostCami]

Hi Happycamper,

Excellent post with great points! I'll be sure to pass it on up the line. :D

[happycamper]

Thank you! :)

[richyroolahs]

I would personally like to see a more unique life-form as Ugobes next product instead of a different animal.
Ugobe have pulled off the Pleo idea with remarkable success, though they still tailored it to suit the product.
I would, however, suggest that Pleos successor be something more modular that does not resemble an animal in any way. Maybe looking at more cute "utility style" robots such as the famous "Johnny 5" from the "Short Circuit" movies.
In the very early days of Pleos development Ugobe said that they chose the carmarasaurus because it was small, cute, and that it would be easy to emulate a dinosaurs behaviour because nobody has actually met a real dinosaur. The problem with making a synthetic life-form such as a dog is that everybody knows exactly how a dog acts and it would be much harder to fool people as they would simply spot the flaws.
Creating a character means that you can also create it's behaviour and (as far as the user is concerned) anything goes if it is a creation.
I'm not even saying that the robot should walk, maybe it has wheels or tracks.

I'd love to know what other people think of my comments! Thanks

[pleoguy101]

the only thing I get worried about time to time is pleos gears, are they loud? I have heard from many articles that his gears are extreamily quiet, I sure hope so:) I know pleos gears wont be as loud as the the robosapians, but I'm just wondering how loud they will be.

[ryane]

i would love a robot like johnney five. i don't know if it could be labled a lifeform though. i suppose you could call it that if you imbue it with enough "life" or organic characteristics. i think ugobe will be going in a lot of different directions. i think they will likely surprise us a bit. i can't wait to see what their ideas for the future are! lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. we haven't got pleo yet!

[ryane]

the only thing I get worried about time to time is pleos gears, are they loud? I have heard from many articles that his gears are extreamily quiet, I sure hope so:) I know pleos gears wont be as loud as the the robosapians, but I'm just wondering how loud they will be.

you can hear pleo's motors running in some videos. i don't think it will be too loud or noticeable. it doesn't bother me. :D

[DinoFun]

Would be great for Pleo to have owner voice recognition and come when called.

:D

[pleoguy101]

I agree, and this may happen someday:);)

[cmadmacs]

I 2nd that idea.

[ryane]

me third.

i wonder if they are gonna get some basic voice rec going on pleo. john did say they were working on

some algorithims for it. that would be awesome.:D



i would love to see pleo pushed as far as he can go. i think

his abilities could out do aibo on many levels. one area pleo won't be able to beat sony's bot in however is

movement. he just doesn't have a thousand dollars worth of servos, not not as many motor/dofs. i hope to

see improved mechanical designs in their next lifeform. don't get me wrong though. pleo's movements are

amazingly fluid and realistic. i also love how he has a joint in the middle of his body. pleo can't walk in a

small cirle or turn on a dime. these are trivial issues right now, just something ugobe will have to work on in t

he future. i will definitly love pleo for the way he is, sharp turning or not!:D

[ryane]

i think it would be cool if they could program pleo to recognize an object to play with. maybe through a combination of color

and object recognition. for instance, aibo plays with a pink ball. when anything pink comes into view he goes to play with it

whether it's a ball or not. (2XX series i don't know about the others) this should be possible with pleo right? he sees color. does anybody know what colors he's able to

see though? i bet pink was chosen for aibo because it isn't as common around the house as many other colors. how about

a purple egg to play with? he could nudge it with his nose and maybe give it a little kick.

[cmadmacs]

excellent idea.

[pleopot]

I think UGOBE should create another version of Pleo which is more expensive (well, with a lot more capabilities / functionalites of course).

Why?

Imagine if everybody can buy pleo, then you will see pleo in every corner of a house, stores, streets, etc.

Well, this is nice for the company, but .... then it will be just a regular toy.

We are not feeling special by having a pleo.

Just my extreme tought :)

[pleopot]

What do I want to see in the next version of Pleo?

1. Animation in the stomach to simulate breathing

That's the biggest dream of a robotic pet for me, because that will make Pleo alive !

Believe me, this will make it a huge different.

2. Basic voice and speech recognition

Yeah, this is a must to be honest. Just basic recognition like "sit" ... or "come here" .....

3. More and more and more battery power

1 hour is not enough :)

[mweed]

What do I want to see in the next version of Pleo?

1. Animation in the stomach to simulate breathing

2. Basic voice and speech recognition

3. More and more and more battery power


Well, we all agree on the battery life, and I strongly agree on the speech recognition. Voice recognition optional. But I had never thought of simulated breathing. It makes sense to appear more lifelike. But then you have to adjust the breathing to match the level of activity, like the lactic acid code pleo already has.

SHould we program the pleo to fidget when idle? No one or no animal stays perfectly still. There's usually a tail swishing or small movements and body shifts . . .

I think your onto something here! :cool:

[pleopot]

You are right with different level of breathing, speed of the stomach contraction, how deep is the breathe for example.

But, yeah, we cannot have it all.

However, as long as they can figure out the (hardware) mechanism of the stomach animation, the rest can be solved by programming.

Just a small movement (contraction) would be enough. I dont know, I am not a hardware designer nor robotic practitioner (I am a computer programmer). So, I dont know how hard is it to implement breathe simulation. I thought we can use somekind of soft balloon hide underneath of the skin and there will be a motor to blow that balloon :) Then use some clever coding to control how fast to blow the balloon !

Emotion = angry or tired then the blow speed should be faster :)

At least, this will make Pleo really looks like alive ... for sure.

Well, we all agree on the battery life, and I strongly agree on the speech recognition. Voice recognition optional. But I had never thought of simulated breathing. It makes sense to appear more lifelike. But then you have to adjust the breathing to match the level of activity, like the lactic acid code pleo already has.

SHould we program the pleo to fidget when idle? No one or no animal stays perfectly still. There's usually a tail swishing or small movements and body shifts . . .

I think your onto something here! :cool:

[turtlex]

Ugobe -

First, thanks so much for the newest edition to my family. His name is Digory and he arrived yesterday.

Just a quick comment - to me, his motor seems especially loud when he's moving around.

I have an Aibo as well ( Digory is now Spike's little brother ), so I'm somewhat familiar with AI Robots. Congrats to you. Great job.

Warmest Regards
turtlex

[pleoguy101]

I'm worrid to wake up pleo!!!! I'm hoping his moters arn't too loud, I'm not bothered by robosapians noises so I think I wil be OK:)

[Primus]

This seems to be a bit of a consensus. Pleo's gears are louder then AIBO but not as loud as some robotics out there. The gears are as quiet as they could make them without increasing the price dramatically.

[brian55127]

This seems to be a bit of a consensus. Pleo's gears are louder then AIBO but not as loud as some robotics out there. The gears are as quiet as they could make them without increasing the price dramatically.

Since I don't have pleo yet, how would you rate Pleo's motors compared to Furby? (I have a first generation furby). Do you think pleo will be able to communicate with furby?

[junkroxy]

Since I don't have pleo yet, how would you rate Pleo's motors compared to Furby? (I have a first generation furby). Do you think pleo will be able to communicate with furby?

i think you'll get a negative response: they can't comunicate :o And the gears and sounds of furby are very loud compared to Pleo gears/verses!

[brian55127]

i think you'll get a negative response: they can't comunicate :o And the gears and sounds of furby are very loud compared to Pleo gears/verses!
Well I think they both use infared to "see", but maybe furby is too unsophisticated.
I don't mind the sound of furby's gears, but his voice is also very loud too...

[turtlex]

I was thinking, perhaps, maybe a slightly thicker skin might make the Pleo a little quieter.

[Siren]

But then he might overheat.

[Nicoledm]

Yes, I agree. Pleo is a little loud, but I guess it can't be helped

[Keith]

I wonder if they used brushless electric motors if that might help quiet the sound down.

[pleoguy101]

pleo's gears dont boother me at all, infact, if I am playing piano, or watching T.V, or even listening to the music channel on T.V, I can barely hear pleo's gears at all:)!!! but they really dont bother me anyway...I LOVE PLEO:D:)!!!!!!!!! I just brought him over to my friends house, they all ADORED HIM!!! they even invited me and pleo to there hannukah party!!! "since there jewish" my friends dad played trumpet for pleo, and pleo danced!!! :eek:

[DinoFun]

I would love to see Pleo with sensors in his tail.......and also a device that would sense where/what Pleo is backing into..........the camera seems to work on his nose for forward motion, but need something for the rear. :eek:

[Pleofan89]

I agree. But isn't it too late to suggest things now?:(

-It'd be nice to just leave him there on the table without worrying he might fall off while moving back.

[ryane]

I agree. But isn't it too late to suggest things now?:(

-It'd be nice to just leave him there on the table without worrying he might fall off while moving back.

not going to happen. though it is possible in the next life form!:D

[pleoboy]

mine 1st hatch ( his name is pillu) is not loud... motors sound is slow too

[jimbim121]

Their could be a break-away part of the egg.

[ryane]

i just think it would be interesting to use pleo's color vision to recognize a particular color as a toy/ball.

add programing for him to play with it and it could even be a new drive for him(desire to find his toy and play

with it with his owner). i've wrote about this in another thread a while back. i originally thought that maybe a

purple egg would make a good pleo toy. (i thought purple would be a good color because it isn't too common

around the average home) it's too good of an idea to dismiss. :D

anyone know what colors pleo can recognize?:confused:

[cmadmacs]

I'm not sure what colors pleo can see. I do like the idea of the toy ball.

[mweed]

In the one video, he was tracking aq red ball.

[DinoFun]

Has anyone tried to get Pleo to track an object?

[cmadmacs]

yes, his leaf.

[junkroxy]

I'm not sure what colors pleo can see. I do like the idea of the toy ball.

i know he's able to see the primary colors:)

[ravennh]

I would think a pleo toy would be easy. worst case they sell a ball with an IR sensor (runs on watch battery/ies) that he'd be able to sense aka like another pleo etc.
same thing could be done for a 'bed' etc

[cmadmacs]

That is a interesting idea.

[sarusani]

As far as I know Pleo should be able to recognize and track a ball. Maybe not with his current software but it was demonstrated in one of the videos UGobe released earlier on pleoworld.

[PleoPrincess78]

I don't have many complaints about Pleo.....other than the tendency it has to back off table edges and risk falling. Forwards, it sees the edges fine (great sensors, UGOBE!), and we all laughed at the reaction.
But on a small table, if it backs up too far, it can just fall off the other way.
A sensor in the back may have prevented this problem....I don't know if it can be adjusted or not in the future, but it's an idea for future robots. :)

[Lu Bu]

That might not be true, his "object recognition" probably focuses on the bright colors, not the shape of the ball.

[ryane]

That might not be true, his "object recognition" probably focuses on the bright colors, not the shape of the ball.

then it wouldn't be object recognition. it's color recognition.

[Lu Bu]

True, probably Pleo only focuses on polygraphic and simple shapes, not complex shapes. Such as tables, etc. Yet, the question is, 'does pleo have TRUE object recognition?'. Pleo probably focuses on the color's shape, for example: a bright red ball is in Pleo's field of vision, Pleo only sees the ball as a bright red color shaped as a circle. True object recognition, in my opinion, is when the camera is complex enough to tell the shape of an object, even without color or dark colors.

[Falseprophet666]

Woah woah woah- are we talking abou pleo 2.0? Dont we love our pleos? I wouldnt trade little jenga in for a new one! He isnt a goofy toy like furby! There wil be no "Next version"! This is it. I think ugobe did a wonderful job on our little robot budy

[Lu Bu]

Your mssing the point though. UGOBE is a company that makes robots mimic life, not robots with fancy gadgets (AIBO). I'd rather find it annoying and kinda weird to hear and see my Pleo say "Wake up, Lu Bu! Wake up!". I'm fine with the way Pleo is, though, I do agree with you that Pleo should've had longer battery life AND walked much more faster.

[Lu Bu]

For the next UGOBE life form, they should add touch sensors on its toes and feet. I know that Pleo only has touch sensors on his legs, head, shoulders, back and chin. Back in 2006, Pleo had feet and toe sensors, now he only has leg sensors. I'll be looking foward to sensors in his feet and toe later on for the next life form ugobe produces.

[PleoPet]

> Back in 2006, Pleo had feet and toe sensors, now he only has leg sensors.
Pleo has both leg sensors and foot sensors.
The leg sensors are capacitive style. You touch the legs/thighs with your hand (human touch required)
The foot sensors are obvious on the bottom of the feet. Simple switches. Can be pressed by a human or when the Pleo walks.
The actual 'toes' are protruding rubber on the skin. Too small to add a separate sensor. Perhaps more capacitive sensor areas on the legs (to tell grabbing the upper thigh versus lower leg ?)

AFAIK that hasn't changed for a long time http://www.gorobotics.net/The-News/Latest-News/Ugobe-Unveils-Pleo,-Another-Robot-Dino/

[Lu Bu]

That article is from a LONG time. Anyways, I know that the switches are on the bottom of his feet, BUT, back i 2006, if you just tap on Pleo's foot (NOT THE BOTTOM OF HIS FEET, BUT HIS FEET), he will react to it. Now, the only thing left is that you either tapp his leg, thigh or lower leg part, but not is feet. Either way, its too late now.

[Lu Bu]

Here is a vid of Pleo reacting to Caleb's touch on his feet:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E0C55PEcj5E

(at 1:27 caleb starts to touch is feet)

Pleo doesn't have this capability anymore, he only has it on his legs. I'd like to toddle with him like that. Too bad, anyways I am looking forward to see the nex life form.

[PleoPet]

> Pleo doesn't have this capability anymore, he only has it on his legs. I'd like to toddle with him like that.
Pleo will still detect touching the front part of his feet. From the video it looks like the sensor location may be a little different than the production models.
I can't get my Pleo to detect a touch on the lowest part of the toes, but 1 inch higher works (triggers the capacitive sensor in the leg)

(BTW: if willing to perform a little surgery, you could extend the aluminum foil-like sensor to lower on the leg/toes - but it would trigger the same reaction as the leg)

[crawshanty]

After two days out of the box, I'm hoping the next version has the following improvements:

1) Battery Life! Obviously. It would be nice if Pleo could trickle charge through his mouth, by locating a base station and chewing on a charger "leaf". The one hour of runtime just doesn't cut it.

2) Skin-feel. For a robot that loves to be rubbed and petted, the skin is too rubbery, offers too much drag to the fingers.

3) I wish he came in the box with eyes closed - first power-on would be that much more exciting. Also eyes should close when battery is low or off.

[Falseprophet666]

You miss ugobes point. Read "COMPANION ROBOT". As Lu Bu Pleo and I have both said, Pleo is NOT a gadget. You want a gadget, go get yourself an iphone.

[Ridgeback]

I've been told the IPHONE had battery issue's to. Needs to be charged daily if you listen to a lot of music.

[Lu Bu]

LOL I'd never do that to my Pleo! LOL True, I can do that.

[Lu Bu]

iPhone is really that bad with batteries? WOW, my Muziq phone can play 10 hrs. of Music.

[Pleocol]

When I created this post I din`t had any pleo at home. Now I have two.
I recomend this:
* Better baterry perfomance
** Something to cover his belly, so we dont see too many buttons, the sd card, and the battery, when you uncover then you see that, it kills the ilussion a little bit that he is a creture when you see his belly.
*** Hope the new life OS is comes out soon.
**** Next version hehehe, if they make one. Some motor, or animations in his nose, so it adds more expresions, also to the eyebrows, if it that possible.

I think PLEOS are great I love them, the bad is the skin decolration, but i like the texutre is rubbery but it is okay I like it is because it is soft.

[Falseprophet666]

There Will Be No Next Version.

[Ypan]

Make it ressesed, so you can hold Pleo without muting or changing the volume by accident. ....That is all :p

[degers]

I believe it's called the Pleo Button technically :P

[ryane]

it does stick out pretty far. it's too easy to accidently touch sometimes.

[Caaahl]

There Will Be No Next Version.

So, how can you prove this statement!? :rolleyes:

[Falseprophet666]

Pleo is meant to be a lifeform, not a toy. This is not Jurrassic Park where you find Raptorv4 and T rex v5. They are not meant to be replaced. This is the pleo, whether you like it or not. All upgrades will be ai upgrades. There are some people who will never be happy regardless to what happens

[Caaahl]

That doesnt answer my question. ;)

[Falseprophet666]

:eek:Good common sense dictates it. Unless Caleb Chung and Ugobe want to scrap the entire line of their first Life form just as they are getting their company off the ground, they will focus on things that are essential to making Pleo work, such as his software and memory, rather than "techie luxury" things, like making him run faster or go into alarm clock mode. Visit some of the other forums. You will find that quite a lot of people are, as Chung wanted, already attached to their Pleos. There will be no second version. More Lifeforms, yes, in given time. More Pleos? I highly doubt that. Everyone is so used to other toys, Furby, Aibo, Tekno, and Tamagotchi. All of these had second, and in some cases, third and fourth versions, however Pleo is not just another toy. He is a life form, whether you see him that way or not.

[grahamb]

When Pleo's battery finally goes flat, when it shuts down, it should go in to the erect packaging position to be put back in to the box, not the cute 'head and tail' down mode. Otherwise it cant be put away until the battery has been recharged (4hrs), and the pleo button pressed to get it to go in to 'packaging mode'.

Please change this.

[bonkorama]

Why put your Pleo away in a box while it charges?
Put him on your bed, or coffee table, or next to his battery charger, or beside you on the couch, or floor, anywhere but the box, while he waits for his next juice.

Shame.
;)

[Ypan]

That is in interesting point if you do put him back in his box for storage, or transportation. I would like on the other hand, the button to put him in his curled up position for transportation. When I took him to work, we have very small lockers, and when Pleo is curled up and asleep, he fits in perfectly, but when he is erect he does not fit, so everytime I put him in the locker, I would have to cuddle with him until he got in the proper sleep position to fit in the locker.

[degers]

You dont need to wait for a 4hr charge to put him back into the packaging position, just 15 mins would give you enough juice to do that.

[Nummer5]

Hi out there,

the current Pleo "as delivered" is a nice gadget.
However there are some videos out that show just the naked mechanism of the pleo. Also at some trade fairs naked Pleos were shown. I can imagine that there are people out there that would like to customize/dress their Pleos. Are there plans at Ugobe to offer a "naked" Version of the Pleo - without its Latex skin - for creative owners?

Michael

[Caaahl]

I definitely see Pleo as a sort of lifefrom, no doubt. ;)

And i think so too, after some thinking, that it makes more sense, to put new/improved hardware in other/new lifeforms.

I just wanted to know, where you got your information regarding to "There wont be another version of Pleo.".
I'll take a look at the "other" forums, if you give me a hint, where to find them. ;)

[InNM]

I have to agree with Pleocol that he (it) doesn't move around much. After 5 charge cycles, mine moves about 2 ft. at a time and seems to not know how to get out of a corner. I hope this improves.
I would like to see it move around more.

The batteries could be 2700ma instead of 2200 ma to give a longer life per charge. Since these are AA cells, why not make the battery holder or Pleo compartment so we can replace the batteries? We could buy a separate 4 cell charger and have already charged batteries ready to go. I know it takes 6 cells.

How does Pleos do on carpet? Mine seems to have a little trouble . It would do better if it raised it legs more.
Finally, I realize the skin is difficult but it does not have a good feel to it. A synthetic cloth mesh might feel better and work as well.

[mweed]

I just wanted to know, where you got your information regarding to "There wont be another version of Pleo.".
I'll take a look at the "other" forums, if you give me a hint, where to find them. ;)

I have never seen an "official" response from Ugobe one way or the other as to a second or third version of pleo. I see logic both ways, but no official answer. I believe Ugobe will continue to update the Pleo software. My thought is that, even if Ugobe doesn't release a Pleo 2.0 with all new hardware, will they continue to make incremental improvements to the existing hardware/design (like moulding the teeth out of white plastic and the eyelids out of brown) so that say, by next Christmas, the pleos they are shipping will have few problems/issues?

[BauerMECH]

I think we'll just have to skin them ourselves. It'll void the warranty of course, and there won't be much of any of that "going back" stuff once his skin's gone. ;)

[grahamb]

I need to put it away, at night, simple as that. Its an inconvenience having to charge the battery enough to switch it off again.

Some audible warning that the battery were getting low would also be a major benefit. Then I could put it away before it went flat.

[brian55127]

You dont need to wait for a 4hr charge to put him back into the packaging position, just 15 mins would give you enough juice to do that.

But if you only charged the battery for 15 minutes and then put it into pleo, wouldn't it develop a "memory" and no longer be able to accept a full charge?

[Nasb]

Hate the thing ;(

[Nummer5]

Hi,

maybe I mentioned it beforehand - for me (and possibly for a lot of other guys interested in Pleo and in scripting), URBI for Pleo would be a great thing. It looks like the guys behind the development of URBI have a positive expectation on Pleo. At least that was my impression at their forum at www.urbiforge.com
To me it looks like they just did not do it yet because there is no technical specification out there yet.

I am really curious if UGOBE will support/allow an implementation of URBI in the near future :confused:
I just love the conceptional design of both products.

Michael

[PleoPet]

> I am really curious if UGOBE will support/allow an implementation of URBI in the near future
IMHO it is the other way around. AFAIK the URBI folks would have to do the work once a PDK is released to the public (ie. the URBI engine is not open source)
I'll ignore usability (personal preference) and competitive company issues (the folks behind URBI are selling robot technology). It does bring up two related technical issues/limitations:

URBI runs as a distributed robot framework. The bulk of the processing is done on a PC, with the robot running a small runtime. The two must be connected all the time via a wired or wireless link. The robot is reduced to a remote controlled set of servos and sensors. For Pleo that is easy except you won't get full video and audio
BTW: The Microsoft Robotics tools use the same model.
Writing the robot runtime component is not that hard (for either URBI or the Microsoft Robotics Studio) once the PDK is released. It could be written in Pawn. The more harder core may want to replace the core ARM firmware (but that's not critical).

If you are happy with the "always-connected-to-a-PC" model, the remaining problem is how to connect the Pleo to the PC. You could use the USB cable, but it gets in the way when Pleo walks too far. A Wireless connection would be better (but there's no standard for that, yet)
NOTE: The Lego Mindstorm NXT runs URBI and Microsoft Robotics Studio today! using the built-in Bluetooth which keeps it connected to the PC.

BTW: The AIBO case is somewhat special. There is enough horsepower inside AIBO to run a rather large C++ program and run the URBI engine (server) on the robot itself. I seriously doubt it could be ported to the (current) Pleo or Lego NXT. Apparently the Lego NXT brain is the same chip as the Pleo main brain (ARM, 256KB Flash, 64KB RAM).
----
In comparison, the (current Pleo) Pawn approach/runtime is self contained. Everything runs on the Pleo itself. The Pawn compiler itself and general technology is open source (although the Pleo implementation is not currently open source).

[cmadmacs]

To each their own.

[pleoguy101]

ya, the volume button on pleo is somtimes pretty annoying, somtimes a mute pleo by accident!!!

[kchamster]

haha after chistmas and i was in the car and i muted him on the drive home from Texas......I kinda like the button :)!

[rkwill]

I read lots of good ideas here.
I have two of the Pleo robots. They give every indication of being totally unaware of each other.
I cannot keep them awake for more than a few minutes unless I'm constantly messing with them.

The literature says Pleo will explore its environment and avoid obstacles
However, I haven't seen any of that they run into everything, walls, chair legs, people, everything.
Mostly however, the only thing they really do on their own is sleep, how interesting is that?

I think Pleo is a loser with out the ability to recharge its' self And staying awake.

I have tried connecting the USB cable between my computer and Pleo, but without appropriate driver software, my computer and Pleo do not talk to each other.

Just where is that driver software, API, etc?

For now, Pleo is just a dust catcher that moves and makes noises for a couple of minutes after shaking it up.

[rkwill]

After two days out of the box, I'm hoping the next version has the following improvements:

1) Battery Life! Obviously. It would be nice if Pleo could trickle charge through his mouth, by locating a base station and chewing on a charger "leaf". The one hour of runtime just doesn't cut it.

2) Skin-feel. For a robot that loves to be rubbed and petted, the skin is too rubbery, offers too much drag to the fingers.

3) I wish he came in the box with eyes closed - first power-on would be that much more exciting. Also eyes should close when battery is low or off.

I also have two of Pleo,
I don't mid the skin, after all it is a dinasour
Speaking of eyes closed, Mine seem to think, that as teenagers they should sleep all the time (that is all they do unless disturbed by shaking of some kind.
As for battery life, How have you managed to keep Pleo awake and moving for an hour.
Mine, no matter how well initially disturbed, will be sound asleep again within 5 minutes (or less) of when I step away.

The literature says Pleo will explore their environment, navigate obsticles, etc. The best I see is move about 2 feet and go back to sleep.

[cmadmacs]

I have 4 pleos. Mine seem to do very well. They love to explore. Every pleo owner has diffrent experiences.

[PleoPrincess78]

I also have two of Pleo,
I don't mid the skin, after all it is a dinasour
Speaking of eyes closed, Mine seem to think, that as teenagers they should sleep all the time (that is all they do unless disturbed by shaking of some kind.
As for battery life, How have you managed to keep Pleo awake and moving for an hour.
Mine, no matter how well initially disturbed, will be sound asleep again within 5 minutes (or less) of when I step away.

The literature says Pleo will explore their environment, navigate obsticles, etc. The best I see is move about 2 feet and go back to sleep.

This is because Pleo does not have the full software out yet that the company intended. I think Pleo will function better with the new software. Or at least I'm hoping.

[PleoPet]

> ...I also have two of Pleo
> ...Every pleo owner has different experiences.

Take the tail of one Pleo and stick it in the mouth of the 2nd Pleo. Move them so they are playing-tug-of-war.
BEST PLEO SKIT EVER!

[Nats]

When Pleo's battery finally goes flat, when it shuts down, it should go in to the erect packaging position to be put back in to the box, not the cute 'head and tail' down mode. Otherwise it cant be put away until the battery has been recharged (4hrs), and the pleo button pressed to get it to go in to 'packaging mode'.

Please change this.

I do not agree with you.
I like the idea of Pleo closing his eyes and going to sleep when the battery runs down. When you wake him up with a fresh charge, it's like more natural, like he's waking up to a new day (just like us!!!). I alway play with my Pleo until his battery is completely drained. That way, when he wakes up, he is full of energy. I also hate to turn him off (for the evening) with his eyes open. It creeps me out for some reason :o

[Nats]

> Take the tail of one Pleo and stick it in the mouth of the 2nd Pleo. Move them so they are playing-tug-of-war.
BEST PLEO SKIT EVER!

Now THAT is a video I would LOVE to see! :D :eek:

[sugarlump]

:)I understand that each Pleo is a little different depending on how he grows up
I would be fun if each pleo could look a little different from the other?
markings, skin tone, eye color, your imaginations are probably much better than mine.
I have seen some fun things here. look at Helga!?
i

[pleoguy101]

well all pleos wear pattern i s different:)

[Emtwo]

I think the Pleo could use more sensors too. As a life form, it is mostly deaf to its environment. Pressure, heat, light, movement in its vicinity, etc...My cats are very aware of their surroundings. The bodies are covered in sensors. Now the trick is to emulate without copying.

For example, since Man first opened his eyes and realized that there were animals out there that could fly, we attempted to "copy" birds so we could fly too. Depending on whose math you want to use, we spent from 10,000 to 500,000 years working on that problem. And what did "copying" get us? Squat. It wasn't until we actually learned the science of flight that we realized we didn't need feathers and flapping to fly. We needed aerodynamics.

The same for body sensors. Determine what the end results of those sensors is supposed to be. In short, an internal awareness of your surroundings.

For that a million sensors spread over the body is nice, but not necessary. A dozen or so IR sensors (like in PLEOs nose) would be sufficient. They would allow the Pleo to determine if something that was at X distance to the left side had moved to X+Y or X-Y distance. If the Pleo was sitting still, it could then determine that some outside force was approaching fromt the left, or the top, or from behind. It could then focus its primary sensors in that direction, and obtain more information.

[fancyfont]

Emtwo, What a great explaination of the sensors. Thank you.:) I could understand what you were saying without having had Algebra.

[pleoguy101]

I do not agree with you.
I like the idea of Pleo closing his eyes and going to sleep when the battery runs down. When you wake him up with a fresh charge, it's like more natural, like he's waking up to a new day (just like us!!!). I alway play with my Pleo until his battery is completely drained. That way, when he wakes up, he is full of energy. I also hate to turn him off (for the evening) with his eyes open. It creeps me out for some reason :o

I agree:):D!!!!

[Emtwo]

I think the Pleo needs some lungs, or a lung. The life like qualities would be improved with a little movement when it is breathing. They could even use the Nitinol wires to handle the movement. The lungs could be crescent shaped plastic that move in and out (just a little bit).

Operation would be like this: The plastic plates would be hinged on one side with a center mounted spring (probablly plastic as well) and a Nitinol wire on the end. In the cool (unpowered) state, the wire would be fully extended and the spring would keep the plate "out". Then the wire would be charged, it would contract, compress the spring and release. The cooling of the wire and the spring would push the plate out again. Instant breathing.

Hardly any moving parts, and no motor sounds.

[pleoWhisperer]

I like the idea of the nitinol wire. very simple and effective. I know breathing was mentioned months ago as well, as a way to ad more lifelike realism. Pleo makes the sound of breathing, just no body movement.

[ugobeSarah]

Hey all,

I just got this really cute suggestion card from the 10 year old son of UGOBE's supply chain manager. Seems he shares a lot of the hopes and dreamas for Pleo that many of you do, and I thought you'd all enjoy his sweet note:

<img src="http://forums.pleoworld.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=149&d=1210036082">

Thanks Jarryd for the awesome suggestions! We are sending them along to the R&D team in our Boise labs!

[junkroxy]

Hey all,

I just got this really cute suggestion card from the 10 year old son of UGOBE's supply chain manager. Seems he shares a lot of the hopes and dreamas for Pleo that many of you do, and I thought you'd all enjoy his sweet note:

Thanks Jarryd for the awesome suggestions! We are sending them along to the R&D team in our Boise labs!

lol! i want a dancin' Pleo too!:)

[fancyfont]

What a great idea! I would love to see a tap dancing Pleo.:)

[mh7ah]

I would quite like to see Pleo be able to track his own ball and either kick it with his feet or push it with his head :)

[pleoguy101]

I like his suggestions! especially the beat detecton one:) though I dont know how quickly the gears in pleos legs can move to tap dance, I'm sure he can tap dance, just not that fast:)

[Aussie_Pleo]

I would quite like to see Pleo be able to track his own ball and either kick it with his feet or push it with his head :)

In other words be like an Aibo? :p

I think dancing would be too taxing on Pleo's battery reducing it from the current 1 hour to something even more measly. Perhaps the next update could have Pleo sleep more?

[fancyfont]

More sleep? nooooooooooooooooooo!!:D

[andreivc]

I think having Pleo sleep more often would be nice - it's better than wandering about aimlessly...

[hobbesi]

I would hope a Pleo 2 would use a different Battery technology and hopefully not wander around quite so aimlessly. A lithium battery would be nice.

I’d like to see a future Pleo use WiFi as a means of communicating with other Pleos and maybe PCs and other devices. He doesn’t need to blog (although AIBO blogs can be hilariously surreal) It would be nice if Pleos knew and exchanged information with each other. It could be used for diagnostic purposes as well

I’de like to see more touch sensors in future versions. On the tops of the feet, the neck and tail

Better audio/visual equipment. High resolution camera with better light detection. This technology has been evolving so quickly I’m sure we could get a very good quality by the time a Pleo 2 is ready.

Skip the tap dancing... no jazz hands either!

[pirpintine]

I think beat detection would be quite fun.

id certainly like to see improved batterys implemented at some point, im sure theres soem batteries out there that last longer, even for a robot. though id understand if theyd cost more. im sure pleo owners wouldnt mind shelling out a little extra on a battery that lasts say, 2 hours. if such a thing is possible.

i think pleo should have some degree of voice recognition, id understand if ugobe would like to keep it minimal, to keep the 'life-form' thing, and not a robot that obeys your commands thing. but i mean all pets i have, respond to their names at least. i think something like that should be made possible.
and also person recognition, i mean, you got leaf recognition! so why not people faces, or hands. itd add to the life form realism. dogs will react happily if they see a persons face, and cats go towards peoples hands for attention. (or an abuse animal would shy away form any people, so an abused pleo should also do the same!)

these are just a few ides, i was keeping in mind the whole 'life-form' ideals that you lovely ugobe peeps are trying to put across in pleo. and at the moment i think youre doing very well with it all so far. the updates ahve been good! and i cant wait to see more. theres so much potential to be had. :)

[Toyguy]

I'm not so concerned about voice recognition, but an appropriate reaction to a sound would go a long way toward simulating actual recognition. Right now, Pleo seems mostly deaf to sound, though UGOBE have said that they are working on Pleo's hearing for the next update.

One thing I would definitely hope to see sooner, rather than later, is recognition of other Pleos. When 2 Pleos meet face to face, the IR sensors should be able to identify another Pleo. That could lead to some interesting pair or herd behaviors. As it is now, 2 Pleos will essentially ignore each other. That's not natural...