Customer Reviews

WowWee Robotics RoboPet

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I wanted a robotic pet for our busy family, so I bought the original RoboSapien when it first came out. Though we had a lot of fun with it, it lacked autonomy (the ability to do things on its own). Robopet promised that, so I bought that next for my family. It looked promising!

At first, it was immensely fun. It seemed to deliver on its promises. It could roll over, sit up and beg, and scampered about as it explored its environment without running into anything. However, I was disappointed with the fact that it had trouble on a threshhold (the raised part where one floor type changes to another floor type), and could easily get itself stuck in a corner with only one or two obsticals. Oddly, uneven and soft surfaces posed a great challenge; one would assume that a walking robot with four legs ought to be able to walk on anything, but robopet needed a hard, flat surface. Also, I questioned the durability of this 'bot.

Now, I'm not sure if it's something that happened when it fell 6" to the floor after backing away from a wall, or if it was a defect, but mine started locking up whenever I used it in edge detection mode. Nothing takes the fun out faster than when this 'bot freezes in some odd pose and becomes completely unresponsive until it's reset; this after only a couple of minutes of play.

I did some research on my problem, and discovered other durability and quality issues. Apparently, the gears inside are made out of cheap plastic and are prone to stripping. The legs aren't very strong at all and they are also prone to breaking. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if spare parts were readily available, cheap, and easy to replace, but this is not the case.

I'm sorry, but a robotic pet needs to be reasonably durable. If it walks, then it needs to be able to walk on grass, carpet, gravel...and finally, it ought to be able to tell you when it's "Hungry" (low battery power) at the very least. If you want to get into the world of robotics, I suggest one of the many good kits, and if you're in the market for a cheap robotic pet, wait a little longer. Robopet does come close, but we're not quite there yet.

This does everything it's supposed to--lots of cool tricks, no trouble walking on carpets or hard floors, etc. It's not too noisy (just noisy enough to entertain kids), and the programming is very clever. My 10 year old has the patience to read the directions; my 6 year old just pushes buttons and enjoys himself. My kids think it's "awesome!" I'm glad the price was reduced, but it's definitely worth $70 (including shipping).

Grandpa got another robot for our boys. Well this time they had played with it longer and had more fun than with the RoboSapien they got last time. I guess the RoboSapien was still a bit too complex for them and they just liked the demo mode. But this RoboPet is truly fun to play with. BTW even my wife's Grandma loved it soo much she ordered one as she can not have a pet at the place she lives now. You might find this would work as social robot for elderly as well. One thought about the price, I would wait until the price drops at or below $50. The current price now is too much for what it is IMHO.

I saw that quite a few of the reviews here were written by kids who may not have read the Robopet instruction book so I thought I'd chime in. We bought this for my 12-year-old daughter because her brother was getting the Robosapien V2 and we didn't want her left out. I thought it would be a quick diversion, interact with the V2, and then wind up on a shelf in her room. Instead, it was the hit of our extended family Christmas eve because the adults loved it too. It has many more abilities than I thought it would and has proven durable (kicked accidentally across the floor a few times). I would say those who are having trouble with it haven't read the manual. Sometimes it's SUPPOSED to refuse a command--that's part of its personality. This is a fun toy...but probably not for the under-6 set.

It's like he is a real dog!!! This toy, I mean pet, is great!! The only problem is that Robo Pet is rather loud, and sometimes when I play with it, my parents get a little mad because it is fun, but it makes a lot of noise, but I don't regret it, even though $80 is an outrageous price for this, but it is still awesome.
Soooooooooo, go ahead.
Buy it!!!

It is a really cool toy if the price is at this level, not the original WOWEE retail. It can act like a real dog although it can only show routined action. It walks well on a typical carpet floor - It is 4-legged toy!!! - So its walking ability is best among all WOWWEE robots. Only Robosapien can be equal to this toy for walking ability. Neither RR, nor RS V2(RRep) can walk better than robopet.

In addition, its articulated leg structure is a fun itself! Maybe Zoids can only match with it in that viewpoint. Of course its walking motion is more realistic than zoids.

Durability problem lies in the fatigue failure of the plastic grip of a spring in rear legs. This spring is needed to recover rear leg to its original position when the robopet shakes his leg for the trick #9. The problem is that its grip made of plastic is too weak. When you have played robopet for a long time, check this problem and remove the spring when its grip is broken.

I got this at a local Discovery Channel store for $41.97. The first one I got had a broken rear leg. Robopet just shutdown itself couple minutes after I activated it because it couldn't turn over and stand up. After I examed it I found the parts is detached from the motor. I went back to the store and exhchange for a new one. The new one has 4 black chips that scure the leg parts and prevent the parts from detaching from the motors. Obviously the first one is defective...lacks of parts.
Before I got the robopet I've heard that batteries affect the performance a lot. I went to Frys and got 2 different kinds of batteries, ACDelco Super Alkaline and eneloop rechargeable by Sanyo and GE, to test out. I was very dissapointed on the performance after using ACDelco. What happened is Robopet had problem turnover and standup after it did the rollover trick. Then I used eneloop batteries. The performance improved but still... Robopet had to try like 3 times to stand up, sometimes shutdown itself, and had problem making turns on the carpet. But the performance is OK when it's on hard floor. I can tell the waist of Robopet was weak from the sound of the motor...dying sound. I thought I got a defect one again or Robopet doesn't perform well on carpet at all. I decided to try the old batteries, Sony CycleEngery, that I use for my mp3 palyer. The performance is owesome. Now robopet makes turns rollover nicely even on the soft thick carpet.
At beginning I thought Robopet's sensors were not working very well since it kept bumpping into walls and walking against the wall. Then I found that if the light is bright enough Robopet reacts very well.
Some maybe said that it's made of cheap parts. But I think for about $42 it's totally worth it. Sony Aibo costs more than $500.
I am gonna order the Roboreptile from Amazon. I can't wait to receive RV2 next Tuesday.
I would suggest exam the products right after you purchase since missing parts, 4 parts, is a very riduculous thing that could happen. And they assert that each product is tested before they ship it.

My 6 year old nephew got this for his birthday after he got the dinopet for Christmas and he loves them both! This is so funny it even acts like it is peeing! This is a pet I can handle we all love it!

I tryed this with friends and in stores it is soooooo much fun! I may have pets already but this is east to take care of no messes,no taking it out on walks,or watching after it every mintue! I love my pets so much but I really like this and I would say to any child who doesn't have a pet "This is the one for you,it is easy and fun!".

This toy is awesome. It does just about everything you tell it to. It's not too loud so your parents don't complain about it. I really like it. My mom typed this for me.