The iSobot robot is one of the best selling gadgets of 2009 and no wonder! Check out what some customers have had to say about the isobot.
A great little Robot
I’m no tech-head but the I-Sobot is seriously impressive kit. Standing at 6.5″ and sporting 17 servo motors, there’s a whole lot of mobility built into something that’s very small.
The I-Sobot has four modes of control; RC, Program, Special Action and Voice Command.
RC requires you enter codes to perform pre-set actions, whilst also giving some manual control over the walking and arm movements. Program lets you string together the moves used in RC mode. Special Action is a great way to demo the robots articulation and voice command sees the robot respond to 10 verbal orders.
With some 150 pre-set moves, 200 sound effects and a program mode there’s plenty to keep you entertained. That said, I-Sobot does have a few rough edges.
The “control pad” is a little awkward. Whilst the instruction booklet does list input codes, it’s not all that intuitive. To see the I-Sobot perform a kung fu punch, having to press “1,2,P” isn’t the obvious choice.
The other gripe I have is with the battery life. I-Sobot comes with 3 AAA chargable batteries and a mains charger. That’s all well and good, but the batteries sit inside I-Sobot’s chest, which means you’re always unscrewing the thing. Not ideal if you’re buying the I-Sobot as a gift for a young one.
Saying that, it should be noted that whilst the I-Sobot is recommended for ages 10+, it won’t stand up to a whoopin’. It’s solid but not invincible. The joints themselves can go out of line simply through use but, thankfully, you also get an Allen key supplied with the robot to fix any problems.
All told though, I-Sobot is a great little robot and bridges the gap between the likes of kid friendly Robosapiens and more techie friendly Robonovas.
