One of the things we will be doing here at CES will be taking a look at what some of the most innovative Canadian technology companies are showcasing on this, the grandest of international electronics stages. Over the coming days we will be profiling what we call our "Quad-Cs" or "Cool Canadian Companies at CES" in addition to our coverage of what the big boys of the business - the Sonys, the Microsofts and the LGs of the world - are doing.
So without further adieu:
Robots!
That's right, after a quick tour around the booths at the official pre-pre CES press launch night, dubbed CES Unveiled, it was clear to everyone that one of the big themes this year will be robots - robots you can play with, robots with video cameras and robots as a form of home security.
But it looks like the early favourite to be labeled standout star product at this year's CES could come from a Canadian-owned company: WowWee Ltd., a Hong Kong toy developer recently purchased by Montreal-based Optimal Group Inc.
Normally WowWee brings one or two new products to showcase at CES, but this year it pulled out all the stops with 10 new toys sure to elicit rampant drooling amongst robotics consumers.
“When we come out with a robot, we really come out with a robot,” WowWee vice president of operations Richard Stein told the Globe.
WowWee’s star robot is so popular that Good Morning America and CNN have already booked times to chat with company executives about it on Monday. It’s called Rovio, and the company is calling it a revolution in “home exploration and telepresence.”
Rovio is basically a remote control robot that looks like a round dust buster on wheels that you can control from any web-accessible device, including a PC or a cell phone. It features a built in camera which streams audio and video as well as something called NorthStar smart navigation and positioning technology, which essentially allows Rovio to navigate around your home or office on its own.
“Working like a micro-GPS system, the NorthStar system enables the Rovio robot to know where it is, locate the position of other objects, and navigate from place to place with pinpoint accuracy, entirely under its own control,” WowWee said in a statement.
Imagine being away on business and having the ability to connect to a robot in your home from your BlackBerry, then driving it around your house making sure everything was okay, or piloting it into your kid’s room to talk to them through the built in camera before they go to bed.
Oh, and if Rovio detects it has less than 15 minutes of battery power left, it automatically returns to its docking station to recharge. Expect to see it on the market this summer selling for around $300.
All of WowWee’s robots contain between 10 mins and 2 hours of programming, which makes their human interaction very sophisticated, Mr. Stein said. Depending on which robot tickles your fancy, it can walk, talk, purr, crawl or fly.
“We are an R and D driven company,” Mr. Stein said. “Sony, Apple … all the big guys, they come to us for ideas.”
Next there is Tribot, the latest generation of the company’s robosapien line of devices. With three wheels, animated eyebrows, the ability to tell jokes and a remote control that features Nintendo Wii-like motion sensitive capabilities, Tribot is sure to be a hit with consumers, especially considering the $100 price tag.
WowWee also unveiled a line of plush baby animal robots, dubbed WowWee Alive, which are designed to be technologically advanced enough to mimic real animals but soft enough that any kid can cuddle them as they fall asleep at night. There’s a baby panda, baby polar bear and baby white tiger. Pick one of them up by the scruff of the neck and the back legs go limp as if it were being carried by its mother, stroke the baby tiger under its chin and it purrs at you.
These things are so realistic, they border on creepy.
Consumers can expect to pay $59.99 for one, and Mr. Stein said the company is looking for an environmental protection group to partner with to donate some of the proceeds.
Optimal Group announced it would buy WowWee Ltd. for about $55-million in cash and $10-million in shares. Optimal said at the time that WowWee had 2006 revenue of $117-million, with about $5-million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
-- Matt Hartley
