Games Kids Play

Games Kids Play

Robosapien V2 (Price: USD 250)

The Robosapien V2 is a remote controlled talking
robot, which stands two feet tall ten inches
taller than its predecessor. A little over 2.5 kgs
in weight, version 2 has been around for a year
now and is still popular among people of all age
groups. It can pick up and throw objects, kick
and even dance. Farting and burping are also
part of its 67 pre-programmed movements. In
addition to following commands sent from the
remote control, it can also function on its own in
free roam mode. With its ability to learn up to
84 additional programmable steps, you can even
program it to carry out certain tasks. Robosapien
V2 can also fihearfl sounds in stereo mode
and react accordingly. It can even distinguish
colors and skin tones with its fieyesfl (color
vision system). The Robosapien is quite a social
animalit can communicate with fellow-bots in
its vicinity too.

Roboraptor (Price: USD 100)

Razor-like teeth, eerie eyes and a striking
resemblance to the raptor, the fascination with
reptiles from the Jurassic age has not ended. The
Roboraptor is a hundred dollar pre-historic robot
that can sense its surroundings via touch and
sound. Sensors that are placed along its reptilian
body (including its mouth) help it in avoiding
obstacles; hear audio (in stereo mode) and react
accordingly. You can control the raptor to do your
bidding with the help of the remote control. It can
be set to function in different stealth modes or be
plain playful. If your dog can fetch and play dead
then this raptor can do better.

Robot Shark (Price: USD 100)

Creating one of the most feared pre-historic
creatures on land was not enough. A reproduction
of the Don of the deep had to follow. The robotic
shark is scaled down to just two feet in length
and can swim (and be controlled) up to a depth
of nine feet. It is made up of segments, which
allow it to mimic the predators swimming
motion. A propeller tucked neatly under its tail
fan produces the forward thrust. It can be made
to swim backwardssomething even ? sh cant
do! The remote control has a range of up to 40
feet and is also waterproof. Interested in going
swimming with your pet shark?




LEGO Mindstorms NXT
(Price: Not Available)

If buying a ready-made robot is not your
style then LEGOs new Mindstorms NXT
kit will be right up your alley. This new
version is going to attract more LEGO fans
than the what the Mindstorms kit did
when it launched in 1998. Use the NXT
kits components to build your own robot
and program it to do a speci? c task. The
ultrasonic sensor and the sound sensor can
be its eyes and ears while three servomotors
will give mobility to your robot. You can
program your robot to perform tasks and
teach it to interact with other robots too. It
supports wireless transfer via Bluetooth and
can also be connected to your PC through a
USB 2.0 port. Creating your own robot with
LEGO is meant to be simple (it is meant for
the age group of 10 years and over). There
are LEGO robot-programming guides for
those who need a helping hand. If you are
interested in owning this robot kit, then
you will have to wait a while. The LEGO
Mindstorms NXT kit will be available only in
the second half of the year.

AntWorks (Price: USD 20)

This ant farm is made up of an edible gel
made by NASA as part of an experiment.
The ants burrow through this special gel,
which is a form of nutrition for them. The
base of this ant farm has LEDs that give
it its cool blue look. Instead of watching
gold? sh swimming aimlessly in an
aquarium, you could switch to gazing at
ants making tunnels into gel.



Friendchips (Price: USD 20)

Radicas Friendchips is meant for young
girls who just have to fikeep in touchfl with
their friends while class is on. The gadget
lets one key in a message onto a fichipfl
through a fireader unitfl. Pass the chip
over to a friend and she will read it on her
Friendchips set. It consists of two reader
units and four chips. Even though it is
meant for girls, many boys have expressed
their interest in this messaging service.
Even little kids are going paper free!

Fly Pentop Computer
(Price: USD 100)
The Fly Pentop Computer by LeapFrog
Enterprises won the fiEducational Toy of the
Yearfl by the Toy Industry Association at the
International Toy Fair this year. Meant for
kids eight years and older, the Fly Pentop
computer sees what you write on special
paper called fiFly paperfl. You can play
games, learn spellings, phrases, improve
your math or learn science. You can draw a
calculator on the special paper and do your
math. The pen will read the answer out to
you. It will even say it in Spanish.


20Q (Price: USD 16)

Voted the fiElectronic Entertainment Toy
of the Yearfl, 20Q (20 questions) guesses
what you think by asking you a set of 20
questions. All you need to do is think of
an object and answer 20Qs questions
by pressing fiyesfl, finofl or fimaybefl. Based
on your answers, it uses its own logic to
ask new questions. Simple but great fun,
this ball can be a great entertainer in your
slumber parties.