Hasbro to launch intelligent robotic bug toys
Hasbro has developed a range of toy bugs based on technology used by the US government to create robots.
The BIO (Bio-mechanical Integrated Organisms) Bugs are the first toys to use “nervous network” technology, developed ten years’ ago, to help connect the functions of robots.
The robotic bugs, which are part of Hasbro’s WowWee division, mimic real insect behaviour and react to outside stimuli such as walls, feet or other BIO bugs by retreating or moving forward and climbing over obstacles.
WowWee Toys president Peter Yanofsky says: “BIO Bugs decide what they want to do because they are just like real bugs only without the tissue, with a battery as a heart and ‘nervous technology’ acting as its brain.”
The bugs come in four colours, with each colour representing a different “species” with its own characteristics. A green BIO Bug, for example, has the ability to operate over rough terrain while a yellow bug moves quickest over smooth surfaces.
The toys come with a transmitter which they “feed” off to give themselves power. They can also “snack” off any household item which emits infrared radiation, such as a TV remote, microwave oven or fluorescent lighting.
The bugs, which are aimed at children aged six and above, will go on sale in the US in September. They are expected to launch in the UK and the rest of Europe early next year.
