CHiP – Man’s new best friend

We’ve all seen robot dogs come and go, some were really smart, while others were slow and kind of pointless. Sadly, none of them actually had the staying power of a real pet.

However, a company called WowWee is trying to break the pattern of disappointing robot pets with its Canine Home Intelligent Pet or CHiP.

The robot pup is black and white and cost about R2850! But CHiP has more smarts than your average robot toy dog; it’s packed with hidden infrared sensors that give it a 360° view, which CHiP uses to find its special ball and charging bed!

CHiP has the look of some kind of mix between a cat and a dog. He is location-aware thanks to GPS and can even see and react to the world around him, so he won’t run into walls or fall down the stairs. CHiP also has Bluetooth, so it can connect with its special Smart Band that you will wear to help your robot friend keep track of you.

Even though CHiP is pretty cute in a weird way, its paws are another matter. CHiP rolls around at high speed on a set of meccanum wheels, so it can roll in virtually any direction! That, when coupled with the robot pup’s startling speed, allows it to do things only real dogs usually do.

This is one special robot. CHiP can sit, squat down, shimmy, dance around and make all sorts of doggy sounds – it does seem alive! But, this has happened before where a robot pooch has seemed amazing, only to disappoint us by the lack of engagement.

CHiP is different though; he will act differently when you are around and will even keep himself busy by looking for its call or reacting to surrounding environment. For example, as the sun sets, CHiP will pick up the dimming light and use its IR sensors to find its bed and self-charge. If CHiP can’t find his bed, or it gets stranded, it will text you for help!

WowWee plans to officially announce CHiP early next year. What do you think of CHiP the robot dog?

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