Customer Reviews

Wowwee Roboraptor

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

First of all, I should make it clear that I am definitely a nerd, and have had a passion for all things robotics since about the age of 10. My home office/den is full of robotic toys and half completed construction projects. When a new robot, or robot toy, hits the market rush out to see it in action, and if it looks halfway decent, then it's going to come home with me - no question. Of course, after a month or two it earns a place of honor and regular use, or it will end up gathering dust on the shelf.

I'm very happy to say that the Roboraptor has already proved itself to be worthy of a place near the top of my robot collection. It was a ton of fun right out of the box - though getting it out of the box was a major challenge. My wife and I popped in the batteries, put the Roboraptor down on the floor, and immediately started having fun. It was the first time, in a long time, when we actually turned off the television and played with a toy together for a couple of hours.

The next morning (Saturday) we set Roboraptor loose in roaming mode to see how our dogs would react to it. It turned out to be a perfect test of what the toy is capable of. As our dogs moved around, barked, and tried to attack the Roboraptor, it would sense their movement, and hear their barks. There is no question that our dogs really believe that the Roboraptor is another animal.

That afternoon we let it roam around upstairs and videotaped it exploring the rooms, poking into the corners, sniffing everything, and getting into a fight with a metal coat rack. We laughed so hard, and enjoyed it so much that we had to share the videos with our friends on our "Robot's Dreams" blog.

Why were we so successful, when other people have had negative experiences with the Roboraptor. I think there are a couple of factors.

1- Since we ordered it online and had to wait for it to arrive, we spent the time to carefully read the online manual, and posts by users on the internet.

2- We used only fresh batteries.

3- We had a lot of experience with other robot toys, especially the Robosapien - even to the point of developing a PC based remote control program for it.

4- We really wanted to see what the Roboraptor's roaming mode could do, and how it would react in a dynamic, interactive environment. If you just turn it on and let it sit there expecting that it will entertain you - it's probably not the toy for you. But, if you actually play with it, move around, try to approach it, touch its tail, etc. it's a lot of fun. The sessions with our dogs really taught us a tremendous amount about what the Roboraptor is capable of - and gave us lots of things to talk about, and wonder about, for days.

5- Our house has hardwood floors, and doesn't have alot of clutter - except in my den. I'm sure that the Roboraptor won't do as well on heavy carpet. He also seems to do very well in hallways or rooms with a lot of flat vertical surfaces like bookcases or solid chairs. But, as you might expect, he has problems with thin chair legs and picture windows.

Is it going to teach you, or your child, a lot about robotics? Probably not at a technical level. That's why I gave it a 3 for educational value. Still, if it inspires curiousity and interest in robotics, then it's well worth the price.

Would I recommend it?

Yes - absolutely, if you like interactive toys and are willing to spend a little time figuring out all its different modes.

No - if you expect to turn it on, sit back, and expect it to do everything by itself. This great toy is definitely not for couch potatoes.

This is a review of the Roboraptor in two parts. The first part (below) was written by the purchaser and owner, my 8-year-old son Robin. The second part (below that) was written by me, Jack Holcomb. Since we used both the Amazon and Radio Shack reviews while we were researching this toy, we're posting this review to both forums.

***

Robo Rocker
by Robin Holcomb

I love my Robo Raptor. My favorite part about the Robo Raptor is the Roam mode, which means that it moves on its own. It's cool because it's kind of like a real cyborg animal. I like to do fights using the remote control with other toys, like my giant robot Mars Super Fighter. I would like to buy some army men for it to munch on.

I think the good reviews were completely right and the ones that say "this is just a piece of junk" were completely wrong.

***

OK, so that's Robin's take on it. I want to add a few details to what he said.

Robin first became aware of the Roboraptor when he saw it at Toys R Us, over a year ago. For one birthday, one Christmas, and another birthday, it was the first item on his want list. Given the expense and our family's previous bad experiences with expensive remote control robots (they didn't work as advertised, they were played with for an hour then forgotten until yard sale time), Robin's mother and I weren't inclined to go that way again. We explained this to Robin, but he kept asking for it. Finally we told him before his most recent birthday that if he saved all of the birthday money he'd be getting from extended family, he would almost certainly be able to afford it. So that's what he did.

Once he had the money, we sat down with Robin and the computer and looked at the reviews of Roboraptor on Amazon and Radio Shack. Robin wasn't dissuaded by the generally negative judgment of many of those reviews, and his mother and I decided not to stand in his way; if this turned out to be an expensive lesson for him, well, so be it. He bought it, I helped him get it out of its ridiculous packaging (you need a moderately-sized screwdriver to liberate the poor thing), and I helped him go through the controls once and figure out where to point the controller. From there it's all been his ballgame, and he's had a fantastic time with it.

My own sense is that the long wait, the careful research, and the fact that he did it with his own cash has enhanced Robin's pleasure with this toy, but only somewhat; most of his enjoyment is much more in-the-moment, e.g. making it dine upon his action figures.

I want to emphasize that we never saw any advertising at all for this toy. I get the impression from other reviews that there has been a moderately exaggerated marketing campaign around it. We never saw it, so we never had unreasonable expectations; it looked like a remote control toy, and that's pretty much what it is. I'm not a robot fan, so I'm moderately impressed by how well it navigates in Roam mode--but it's still not what I'd call smart or graceful, and it can get stuck in corners. We have hardwood floors, so we haven't seen the reported trouble with carpets, but it also wouldn't surprise me, given how ungainly the thing is.

A couple of caveats for parents: 1) This thing uses a fistful of batteries, which aren't included. Robin bought his own, but be warned if you're buying it as a gift. 2) There's no mute button, and it's pretty noisy.

Overall we were more pleased than disappointed, but our expectations started out good and low.

When I first saw video of the Roboraptor online a few months ago I couldn't wait.
To my dissapointment, Roboraptor is just a "dumb" remote machine.
It has no true Artificial Intelligence, only has four "moods" and cannot do much on it's own.
It cannot stand up if he were to fall down.
It has trouble walking on most carpets and even some hard floors.
For the most part it just walks in place because the foot pads and length of it's gait will not give it enough traction or forward momentum.
When you do get it to move at it's fastest speed you can still outwalk it.
There is no mute button and the thing can be quite noisy.
Some of so called "sensors" on the tail, under the chin and in the mouth are actually buttons that need to be pushed in order to get a response and are not motion activated.

In under 1 week my cool "robotic pet" became something just sitting around the house (albeit he is cute).

I can say that the quality is excellent.

I would gladly have paid up to 1.5 more for something that actually acted more like a robotic pet than a remote control machine.

The Roboraptor has been hailed as the toy of the year 2005 and the "must have" item for christmas lists. The Roboraptor is very unique and has an initial "cool" factor than lasts for about a week. Only after that initial phase has passed can the real value of the toy be judged. It seems the roboraptor holds it own in the ever expanding realm of robotic toys (Aibo, Robosapien 1 and 2, etc.) Although not as smart or nearly as sophisticated as the $2000 Aibo, it does have one outstanding feature that is amiss in every other toy: Its a dinosaur! Anyone who is a dino enthusiast will probably find having a robotic dinosaur the ultimate in dino toys. And for everyone else, this dino still has many qualities that are worth checking out.

I liked the forward movement of the Roboraptor. I do have very flat carpet so it is able to move rather quickly (especially in the third speed mode). The turning from left to right and vice versa is a bit awkward looking, but its comical since it makes it waddle like a duck. The ability to walk back is a plus since I sometimes find it attacking corners and other dead ends.

The movement of the head and tail are very realistic especially when the raptor is plodding along. The legs do bend or pivot much and seem very limited in range of motion. This is the major flaw in terms of its ability to move but for $99, you can't expect too much can you?

The Roboraptor makes a plethora of sounds that range from happy purring to snarling anger. Perhaps there should be a mute button to disable the sounds when you need silence.

The three "personality" modes work well and it's not hard to discern the differences between the three. "Aggressive" mode seems to initiate a lot of hunting and biting while "Playful" mode turns the roboraptor into a docile and affectionate pet that literally wags its tail when you approach. "Cautious" mode makes the roboraptor afraid of your presence. In any of these three modes, the roboraptor can be set in "Autonomous" function which works well if you have a lot of clear space. It will do a wide range of motions and explore the environment and usually provide for a surprise or two. The remote controller works well and the response time of the raptor is fast. If you leave the raptor idle for a few minutes, it goes into Autonomous mode which is a nice touch. Finally, Demo mode does what it should: Roboraptor does every programmed move to impress friends.

A few small things I did not like included its inability to open its jaw wide, its inability to right itself should it fall over, and its noisyness. Then again, it is a raptor and who is to say that raptors aren't supposed to be noisy. Just know that before getting one, expect one noisy dino.

Battery consumption varies depending on use. Constant running will especially deplete the AA cells. My solution was to purchase 12 rechargeable AA batteries with the highest mAh rating possible. I ended up spending $50 on an Energizer 15 min charger and 12 Energizer AA rechargeable 2500 mAh batteries. Also three AAA batteries are needed for the remote controller which uses very little power.

So far I am quite impressed with the roboraptor. For under $100, you can get probably the coolest dinosaur toy on the market. If you are looking for a fully automated robot capable of learning, recognizing your face and your family's voices, delivering memos and messages, and fixing dinner, then the Roboraptor is NOT for you. Get something else for a few grand. If you want a toy robot that walks, bites, screeches, and interacts on a basic level with you, then get this one. Its as close to a pet raptor as you can get right now and its not fast enough to terrorize your real pets.

This toy cannot do what you think it will. It does not move at all on carpeting and waddles on hardwood flooring. If you think it is going to chase the kids around then you will be greatly disappointed. It's stride is too short and low. It has good animation and sound, but without movement, it is a bore. Definetly not worth the money.

My son is 4 1/2 years old. He LOVES this toy. His expectactions might be low b/c he does not expect it to act like a live dinosaur, but, it is the closest he has ever gotten to a live dinosaur. At 4 he can easily get it to rub his hand in friendly mode. He can change the moods and attack bad guys. Does not move on carpet.. slips at first on tile, but, picks up speed in gate. It will sense if you step beside it and bite in that direction or nuzzle. If you are expecting a live dino to do your hunting or only have carpet don't get it. If you have a kid with an imagination that loves dinosaurs that is not already over hyped by commercials (Face it.. they always look better on TV.. even action figures look like they are alive).. this is a great toy for the younger audience... my wife and I played with it a lot too. These reviews are way to rough on this toy. I think people expectations were almost comical for the price of the toy. If you are in rc hobbies and know the price of a good strong servo you will know that there is no way to load this thing up with high end high torque servos. Although.. it should walk better in carpet. Overall.. my kid has a new pet that he loves. That means I like it.

I rarely write reviews, but after picking up a RoboRaptor and putting it though its paces, I felt I had to write. If your child wants one of these (or you do) be prepared to be very disappointed. Basically, this toy isn't half as fun as the ads and commercials make it look. It has trouble walking on MOST surfaces and its sensors leave MUCH to be desired. It's more like a fancy mechanical walking toy than an intelligent robotic toy. It constantly falls over on carpeting (even low pile), walks in place on most smooth surfaces, and is generally pretty unreliable. Your toy will walk into (and bang itself against) pretty much most items in its path, and the way it interacts with people and pets is pretty much non-existent. The mouth sensor requires you to put your finger in its mouth and push a switch so don't expect it to play tug-of-war like the hype says. Event the sounds are pretty annoying in their volume and repetition (not to mention they use a T-Rex sound for a raptor growl). I've found many blogs that refer to problems with these units and an issue with batteries - first they drain them pretty fast, and second the robot starts to have motion and sensor problems when batteries have been used only 30-60 minutes (in addition to the motion and sensor problems they have when fully charged!) All in all, this toy is no where near ready for market and certainly not at the current price. I'm just glad I checked it out first before having my best present be a major disappointment Christmas morning and watching my kids smiles turn to frowns...

I have a 7 year old son and a 3 year old son. They both like it. My 3 year old will pull its tail and it will make its noises at him. They both like the tail movement, head movement, bitting or rubbing up against you hand if you catch its attention. Far as the walking, it does not walk on our carpet or our tile. I looked information up on the internet and someone had mentioned trying to put self-sticking and thin padding on the bottom of a few toes. If it does not work then the self-sticking will come off. I hope it works. My three year old plays with it all the time. The 7 year old does play with it a good amount. They love the bitting action more than anything and the look of it. We have a very small dog in the house and it does stay clear of the roboraptor. The dog is cool with it till it is put next to her, because it cannot walk on our carpet. But for a 9 or 10 year old without the walking may not be the pet they would want from what I see with my boy this is a amusing toy for younger children that enjoy dinosaurs alot.

I am the mother of an 8 year old boy. When he first got this today he thought he would have a lot of fun with it. He now realize its a toy that isn't what the commercial made it out to be. After only one hour of playing with it he realizes it was not worth the money he had saved up to buy. He is going to be taking it back today. He only liked the guard mode. It is cute, its just not fun when it cannot even walk on our carpet. 90% of our house is covered with carpeting. I would have liked it and so would he if it could have walked on carpet. Good thing this happened before Christmas and not on Christmas day because he is still in tears and I would not have liked to see our son so sad on Christmas day over a toy dissapointment.

robo rapter is realy fun but some times he acts dumb like not moving. Over all its fun. You can make him sneeze it's pretty neat. He can walk and run but he can't go on all carpets. He goes the fastest on hard wood floors but he makes a annoying sound but I like it because it bugs my mom.