WowWee MiP robot is a must buy at Rs 6,200

How many robot movies have you all seen? From Terminator (released in the year I was born) lending wings to the bot-fantasy, Robocop, Transformers, I-Robot, Real Steel, Wall-E, Bicentennial Man and even the Hindi movie Robot, they all have their moments, catching the fancy of our inner child.

However, much these robots capture our imagination, such robots still only inhabit science fiction. This is where companies like WowWee step in to forge new categories in personal robotics and open up the portal to entertainment for children and adults alike.

The latest MiP (Mobile Inverted Pendulum) robot from WowWee makes the adults go "Wow" and the kids go "Weeeeeeeeee". MiP is a relatively small robot, about seven inches tall. Built in a black and white body, the torso includes a mode light and two arms that do nothing.

For feet, it has been installed with two large wheels that help the bot balance on its own. The MiP is powered on four AAA batteries that will last more than four hours of horsing around. But unless you actually have kids to entertain, you might just take them out in an hour.

The MiP operates on three basic characteristics - sensing, movement and intelligence. Sensing allows the MiP to gauge its surroundings with its obstacle sensors. It responds to claps, a series of waves and gestures. Simply hold your hand a few inches in front of its face and wave it towards left or right and the MiP will respond swiftly at the hand gestures and turn left or right.

Moving your hand toward the robot will make it roll back and pulling your hand quickly away from it will bring it closer to you. It's like playing with two magnets and changing their polarity position to make them follow your commands. For movement, the MiP can balance and move quite effectively on those two wheels, much like a Segway. Simply turn on the MiP and hold it until the wheel's motors and the MiP's gyroscope take over. One thing you may notice is that the MiP is never completely still and continuously shifts to maintain balance.

The two-wheel locomotion makes the MiP highly manoeuvrable. But that is all there is when it comes to movement. The arms on the bot are just for show and don't do anything. And finally, intelligence! This is where programming enters the picture, and the MiP comes with seven pre-programmed modes, activated by spinning one of its wheels until its chest light changes color. The default mode represented by the colour blue lets you take control of the bot by using your hands. The Stack mode, as the name suggests, allows you to stack objects on to the MiP's detachable tray table that comes in the box, while the bot tries to maintain a balancing act.

Next is the Cage mode where you block the MiP's path with your hand or objects and it manoeuvres out of it. Then there are the Roam and the Tracking modes, but my favourite was the Tricks mode that allows you to program gesture commands in your MiP. Enter this mode and when the MiP's chest starts flashing, program a sequence of gestures and then clap twice or tap the MiP on the head two times. He is now a slave to your whims.

As soon as you think that your interest in the MiP has peaked, WowWee has packed in another punch to keep your inner child awake, much like in one of those sugar-high frenzies. With free iOS and the Google Play app, you can connect the MiP to your smartphone.

You can manoeuvre the MiP manually using two thumb-driven virtual joysticks or simply draw a path on your screen that the MiP will then follow like an industrial robot. I fiddled with it for more than an hour and I felt like a ring master. When it comes to a battle of the bots, the MiP may not win it unscathed but it will definitely win some affection of the robo-heads. The gesture control and the app connectivity put the MiP at the top of the food chain. But just like the management pyramid, sophistication may take you to the top, but to keep itself at the top, the MiP needs a few improvements. I still cannot fathom that those arms didn't do anything. Nonetheless, for a $100 toy, it does feature a lot of technology and I loved it.

Bag it or Junk it: A must grab.

Price: Rs 6,200, available at leading toy stores.

Ratings: 4/5

@nidhisingal