I-Cybie

i-Cybie is a robotic pet that resembles a dog. It was manufactured by Silverlit Electronics. The i-Cybie robot responds to sound, touch, voice commands via remote control. Although i-Cybie does possess a limited amount of artificial intelligence, programming is not easily modifiable by the end-user, and it is not capable of autonomous learning. The i-Cybie was one of the first robot pets on the market that could power itself via its Walk-Up-Charger.

ensors

* Motion sensors allow i-Cybie to detect movement around it.
* Obstacle sensors are used to navigate as it walks and to avoid bumping into objects.
* An i-Cybie robot can interact with other i-Cybie robots using a built-in IR communicator.
* Sensors on its help the i-Cybie react to touch.
* Sound sensors allow i-Cybie respond to voice commands to "clap" commands. Voice commands require training. "Clap" commands which do not require training.
* Edge detectors help prevent falls, but there have been reports that this feature is not necessarily reliable & was never an advertised feature.
* Tilt sensors allow it to detect when it has fallen down.
* Light sensors let him detect changes in ambient light in your room.

Tricks That I-Cybie is Capable of Performing Without User-Modifications

* Take a bow
* Sit down
* Wag tail
* Stay
* Guard
* Scratch ear
* Give me your paw
* Pee
* Head stand
* Dance
* Beg

Voice Commands

The i-Cybie can be trained to respond to voice. ng mode and in sequence, pressing each tricks command on the remote control and speaking that command. There are 8 different voice commands. One can choose what word or phrase i-Cybie will respond to for each trick. The voice control interface is "speaker dependent" so i-Cybie will only respond to your voice alone, not the voices of others.

Clap Commands

Clap commands are executed as a series of claps and pauses. For example, the "Stay" command is activated by clapping once, pausing, and clapping three more times.

Personality

The i-Cybie has five distinct simulated moods:
* Happy
* Hyper
* Sad
* Sleepy
* Sick

Each one of these moods is expressed with a distinct body position and eye pattern in response to external stimulus.

Expandibility

Silverlit Electronics has a downloader kit that lets you add an expansion cartridge to change i-cybie's mood & even sounds, available at i-Cybie.com . Some users have been able to hack the i-Cybie as well.

History

The i-Cybie was created by a Hong Kong company Silverlit Electronics and released to toy fair's in 2000. It was originally marketed and distributed by Tiger Electronics in 2001 but due to world market problems at the time of release & a battery problem the robot did not do well. Tiger was later acquired by Hasbro Toys. The product was relaunched in 2005 by Silverlit Electronics and was distributed by Outrageous. X-Cybie, a fur version was said to be launched in 2006, it never was. i-Cybie is now classed as discontinued their will not be any future upgrades or accessories.

[Aboutbots.com]

i-Cybie firmware

When Tiger Electronics got the marketing and distributing rights they agreed with Silverlit Electronics to change the robots features & overall look as i-Cybie looked more like SonyAibo. The i-Cybie firmware was designed by Micom tech HK on behalf of Tiger. Recent research by i-Cybie Fans have found out Hasbro owns the firmware rights when they acquired Tiger.

i-Cybie Problems

Tiger Electronics placed a small sticker on the i-Cybie quick start card that told the user the first charge of i-Cybie's Battery is 10 hours. This damaged many batteries, making the running time of the robot less than one hour in some cases. The normal charging time is three hours. Silverlit Electronics released a new long lasting battery in 2004 & in 2005/6 released the Smart Timer a small black device designed to stop the user from overcharging the battery.
* [http://www.strikalite.co.uk/prodcat_type/20/Robot%5FPack/0/Specialist%5FBattery%5FPacks.html Better battery an charger solutions now exist. For UK residents only] using high capacity NiMh batteries 1200 - 2500 mAh) and smart chargers dogs can run for several hours and the batteries recharged for 100s of cycles.

i-Cybie users have reported problems with the robots legs some coming loose & stop working. The only known way at present to fix this problem is by replacing the leg. Which only requires the user to open the robot, unplug the leg & replace it with a new one.

uper i-Cybie

The Super i-Cybie [http://www.aibohack.com/icybie i-Cybie Hack] project is a hardware hack that adds a computer port onto the robots computer system . Several experienced i-Cybie owners with programming skills have banded together to try to drastically enhance the i-Cybie's capabilities.

References

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070819040621/http://www.i-cybie.com/] Recovered i-Cybie page
* [http://www.Aboutbots.com Aboutbots.com] A website dedicated on i-Cybie & Robosapien , videos, downloads etc
* [http://aibohack.com/icybie i-Cybie Hack]
* [http://www.virtualpet.com/vp/farm/icybie/icybie.htm Description of i-Cybie at virtualpet.com]
* [http://www.robotsrule.com/html/i-cybie.php Detailed analysis of comments by i-Cybie owners]
* [http://www.strikalite.co.uk/prodcat_type/20/Robot%5FPack/0/Specialist%5FBattery%5FPacks.html New I-Cybie battery packs] highly recommended: Only for UK residents.