The first of our cheap yet chintzy robots is called the Idog and is
promoted as a robotic pooch. It looks pretty odd, actually. One reviewer said
it resembles "a collision between a bag of marshmallows and a cell phone,
with vague canine overtones."
Even though this dog is not made to look or act like a real dog, it is
still lots of fun for the kids. You feed this dog with music. The robotic dog,
after hearing the music, will wiggle its ears and sway its head to the music.
It will also blink its eyes to the music you feed it. Eventually, according to
the manufacturers, it will develop a personality depending on what type of
music you have been feeding it.
Another fun and inexpensive robot is called "Shooter Bots - The
Game". This robot is a lot of fun if you or your kids are into shooter
games. Basically, the way this robot works is that the robot comes after you
and tries to shoot you with its lazer. You have to shoot the robot before it
shoots you. The robot does not actually know to come after you. What happens is
that the gun you have to shoot the robot with has a tracking device inside it
that the robot follows. It is a brilliant concept. Reviewers reported hiding
behind a couch only to have the robot bounce its lazer off a reflective object
to hit them.
Another inexpensive robot is the mini-Roboraptor from WowWee Robotics.
This little raptor robot will autonomously roam around your house and check
your stuff out. It seems to be curious and really does seem like it is
intelligent.
Another affordable robot is a robotic arm. Robotic arms are not full
robots, they are just an arm with a claw at the end. You can program them to
pick something up, swivel, then put it back down. While it does not sound like
much, it really is interesting. Robotic arm kits are usually more educational
than other robot kits.
This list is of the most popular selling robots for under $30. With the
science of robotics continuing to evolve and the price of computer chips
dropping, more and more robots will continue to fall under $30 which is great
for consumers.
