TechHelp NPD Team Helps Bring Pleo to Life

PLEO LIVES!!!!

The New Product Development Lab at BSU is a magnet for inventors and innovators of all kinds; people who not only have big dreams and ideas, but also the energy and initiative to turn their dreams into reality. 

Caleb Chung, best known as co-inventor of the interactive toy known as Furby, is just such a person. Caleb recently used some of his boundless energy and enthusiasm to help found Ugobe Life Forms, a sophisticated toy maker based in Emeryville, CA. As the company's "inventor guy", Caleb fused his passions for art and technology into a powerful force that led to the creation of one of of the most innovative and technology laden toys of our time, Pleo, a robot dinosaur Ugobe developed in Boise and plans to introduce nationwide. 

Chung lives in Boise and works out of an Eagle office with Chief Technology Officer John Sosoka, whose home serves as an office for himself, Chung, and a growing cast of employees. Chung worked closely with Steve Hatten and the TechHelp New Product Development Team to create Pleo's skeleton using TechHelp's rapid prototyping technology. TechHelp recently added new prototyping materials that give Chung more flexibility in developing parts.

Pleo may have 38 sensors, eight computer processors and 14 motors, but Chung said he thinks people will suspend disbelief and pretend the toy camarasaurus - a kind of long-necked dinosaur - shares their emotions and intelligence. To see Pleo take his first steps, visit www.ugobe.com

Pleo's character is so well developed that it gives Chung and Sosoka the satisfaction of having essentially created a life form. "You're breathing life into something, creating that spark, bringing to life inanimate objects," Sosoka said. Ugobe already has $18 million in purchase orders for the robot camarasaurus, which will retail in the $200-$300 range.

While Pleo looks like a friendly little camarasaurus on the outside, the dinosaur has plenty of power on the inside. It has two 32-bit microprocessors and four 8-bit subprocessors — not to mention 100 customized gears, 38 sensors, 14 motors and a camera-based optical system. It runs a special operating system, Life OS, that allows it to “learn,” act on its own and interact with people.

Visit www.ugobe.com to find out when and where you can purchase today's most modern pet with an ancient heritage.

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