Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

One of my favourite futuristic movies includes super toys which have AI. I always thought that these high-tech toys would never become available in my time, but after seeing the Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig (version 3), I now have faith that AI will be reaching our everyday lives in time for me to enjoy it!

The Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig is really an amazing piece of technology. It doesn't only look and feel just like a real guinea pig, but also acts like a real Guinea Pig. This Gupi has a mind of its own. It can walk around and it won't bump into anything and you don't even have to worry about it falling down the stairs! It's pretty amazing and if you're at home all day like I am, makes for a good little companion. It will even dazzle you by escaping out of a maze, unlike any live critter.

Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig reacts to touch, light and noise. It does so by using infrared sensors. Three located on the eyes and nose, which is used for obstacle avoidance. These sensors are also used in tracking the signal from the carrot (will get to the carrot in a bit). It has two light sensors in the eyes which is how it locates shadow and light. Two tilt sensors to detect what position it’s being held. It also has a built in speaker, for all the cute fuzzy noises it makes as a guinea pig. It also uses motors for the walking mechanism and head movements. All this helps the Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig react to its surroundings.

Like any pet, you have to give it a lot of attention and love otherwise he'll become skittish and seek refuge in darker areas when startled. I’m not really one to be chasing a little furball into a dark small corner with who knows what else in there, so I think keeping him or her as happy as possible is a plus! Although, he’s reactions depend on his moods.

You need to feed Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig by recharging his batteries through a small carrot which is its battery charger.

It has four moods:

- Happy state (follows carrot & giggles)
- Sleeping state (falls asleep in the dark or after period of non-play)
- Learning state (walks around but needs training to avoid obstacles)
- Baby state (cries and shakes head and doesn’t walk)

The Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig will give you hours of fun. It makes around twenty different sounds, sneezes when pushed on the nose and even makes wind if you push it onto its back! As if all this isn’t reason enough to absolutely love this little critter, when two Gupi Interactive Guinea Pigs get together they do a little dance for each other and talk to each other. If you keep them together long enough, they’ll even share their carrot.

Included with the Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig are batteries for not only Gupi but for it's carrot as well. They’re rechargeable. Oh and you should read the manual before giving your Gupi Interactive Guinea Pig it's first breath.

It's a good toy for kids and also for the young at heart adults and a must have for the gadget lovers. Such a big step in technology should not be missed!

Happy Shopping!