Currently, the Transformer robot is unable to walk, but as you’ll see in the following video it is already able to transform from a car into its humanoid shape on its own. The mini servos aren’t very quick or powerful, being so small, but chances seem good that it will be able to walk on its own in the future. The Zoids toy builds on the i-SODOG so it is capable of quardrupedal walking. Takara Tomy is keeping a tight lid on an actual release date and price.
Takara Tomy made a name for itself in the 1980s with its charming brand of robot toys that had moving parts. In 2007, it updated the line with a miniature bipedal humanoid robot called the i-SOBOT that could be controlled with a remote. At the time of its release, it was recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records as the world’s smallest biped robot in production. Takara Tomy developed its own miniature servo motors for the robot’s 17 joints, which kept the costs down to an affordable level. At US$350 it was still a luxury for toy collectors, and its movements were pretty slow, but it remains one of the cheapest humanoid robots ever made.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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