[tt] IHT: Erector sets get Internet makeover

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Erector sets get Internet makeover
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/09/technology/ptend10.php
[Thanks to Sarah for this.]
8.1.9

THE END USER
By Victoria Shannon

PARIS: You surely have some memories of a childhood that involved
Erector sets. Or, if you grew up on the right side of the
Atlantic, the name you remember is Meccano.

In either case, the point was to construct some robotic-looking
vehicle or structure out of steel parts and plastic wheels,
molding it together with kid-friendly nuts and bolts and
miniature tools. It was science-fiction and engineering that you
could bring to life and hold in your hands at the tender age of
10.

Today, the Erector company is going digital, and with a new line
of products, you will be able to build a real robot that can be
controlled over the Internet.

Meccano, the French company that owns the Erector brand name in
the United States, is in Las Vegas this week at the Consumer
Electronics Show showing off four new robot-like products that
can move, hear and speak.

Two models are for tech-tinkerers either young and old, and the
other two are strictly for children.

The products, which all carry variations of the name Spykee,
won't be commercially available until August. But they sound
cool, if you're into do-it-yourself robotry and have the bank
account to afford it - the suggested prices are EUR150 to EUR300.

Spykee will join a host of other new high-end robotic gadget-toys
already on the market, like Pleo, the baby dinosaur made by Ugobe
that is also a bit pricey at about $350, and I-Sobot, which looks
like a Transformer and runs about $300, from Tomy.

Sales of robotic and interactive playmates in the United States
were $284 million in the 12 months ended in October, up from $213
million in the previous 12 months, according to NPD Group, a
market research firm.

But Spykee has special features that the others don't.

The regular Spykee is a Wi-Fi robo-gadget that can serve as a spy
camera, controlled via any Internet connection and with a
motion-detection sensor, that can send you instant video or
photos by e-mail.

Since it has a wireless link to the Internet, you can give it
commands over any personal computer that is on the Web. From your
hotel room, you can send Spykee around your home taking pictures
or functioning as a Web cam. That one, which is an MP3 player on
the side, will run you EUR300.

The second version, Spykee Cell, has Bluetooth wireless
technology instead of Wi-Fi, and that lets you control its
functions from your mobile phone.

On your handset screen, you can also see what it sees through its
remote camera. As a bonus, you can also park your iPod in Spykee
Cell's lap to turn it into a digital music player and then
operate the iPod from your phone as a wireless speaker. Suggested
price is EUR200.

Spykee Miss, for girls, and Spykee Vox, for boys, will run about
EUR150 each and are voice-activated robots - they can
"understand" English, French or Spanish - that can also function
as remote controls for your TV and other electronics.

While some other toys, like Lego or Barbie, have already adapted
to take advantage of the computers and the Internet, the Erector
line has not taken the plunge until now.

Florence Aldeguer, who runs marketing at Meccano, said it had
targeted Spykee to be ready for the Christmas season just past -
80 percent of the company's sales come in November and December.

But some of the components were not up to snuff in time, and
Meccano decided to hold off. Now, all four are destined for this
year's holiday giving. Besides Las Vegas, Spykee will get a
couple of European showings before the summer launch.

Meccano started in Liverpool, England, more than 100 years ago.
After a series of ownership transfers starting in the 1970s,
Meccano is now based in Clichy, near Paris, with plants in Calais
and China.

While the 10-year-old inside of you waits to try out the real
thing, you can see Spykee in action on a couple of YouTube
videos. Or you can play with a virtual Spykee online at
ErectorUSA.com.