Is it a toy? Is it a robot? Or is it just a plain old Baby Camarasaurus?
Meet Pleo a baby Camarasaurus from the late Jurassic Period. A herbivorous dinosaur which inhabited North America and grew to 60 feet long. This little fellow is a life-sized hatchling which won’t grow much more in size, unlike his popularity.
Pleo has become somewhat of a cult figure since hitting the market in 2007. Dedicated websites, blogs, and even communities and conventions give one the feeling that perhaps the age of the smart toy/companion is upon us.
This is one smart litle Camarasaurus! Probably smarter than the real thing thanks to its multitute of internal sensors and Artificial Intellegence. Each Pleo starts life as a hatchling but develops as an individual shaped by its environment and experiences. It can see, hear and feel just like a real baby dinosaur and even sleeps and plays on its own. Upgradeable software ensures that your Pleo will not drop a few rungs on the A.I. evolutionary ladder although no Pleo vets are listed as yet.
With the rate of technological advancement we now experience I for one am looking forward to seeing ‘What’s next’ in this gadget genre. However I do wonder what happens if you put a boy Pleo with a girl Pleo and do I need a cat litter tray???
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[...] video footage of the incident. Funny how human nature works. We know it’s a robot but because Pleo is cute and a baby but somehow our protective instincts kick in as if it were a living animal. More as news comes to [...]