RS Media Requires Reading the Manual: Who’s Got Time for That?

by RayRenteria on November 21, 2007

RS Media is WowWee’s next-generation Robosapien. This new toy has many cool technologies in it: IR sensors, stereo speakers–one in each hand, video capture and playback, .mp3, .wav, .avi, and other media file-support, foot bumper sensors, motion editing, java support, and a Linux-running processor! He looks cool in his new silver and red color scheme. It reminds me of the robot named Jet Jaguar in the 1973 movie Godzilla vs. Megalon (which was a catalyst for my personal interest in robots, btw).

There’s more. RS Media touts a motion editing package that allows its owner to position the robot in a series of desired poses providing a kind of stop-motion animation WowWee call’s “puppet mode.” Slightly more adventurous types will use the PC-based macro editor. There are several ways to program RS Media and all methods can react to the environment using sensors on the robot. The fact that the robot runs on Linux immediately draws the attention of expert robo hackers. RS Media hacking tips have already appeared on the web.

Prices for the RS Media vary substantially but seems to be readily available:

Trossen Robotics, $329.99
JF Robot, $269.00
Wal Mart, $298.00
Best Buy, $349.99
Amazon.com, $199.00
eToys, $199.00

I’ve read reviews from several catalog sites and the feedback overall appears to be positive; however, I was not able to determine the age of the individuals providing their feedback.

Here’s my take on it. RS Media is full of stuff. It’s almost too full. The average kid will open up the box, be awed by its cool appearance, play with it for a little while, and then go on to other toys that are easier to use. Unlike using a game controller to play a game, using the game-like controller to control RS Media requires actually reading the manual. Many of the commands are not obvious. At least with a video game the kid gets a cool animation on the screen explaining which button combinations to push. Check out this quick start page from the manual:

Now imagine your kid having to get through it before he can really start using RS Media.

Missing the Point with a Potentially Game Changing “Toy”

The Avenger

I don’t think that looks more difficult to understand than understanding the instructions for various combos in beat ’em up video games.
Ray Renteria

I agree. The difference is in how the combos are communicated. In a video game you never have to leave the game to see those sequences. There’s typically a 3D came controller with glowing buttons and such that can be summoned at any time. I can’t remember the last time I saw a kid with the patience to pause, break out the manual, look up the sequence, and resume.
javapda

Nice. Is IR used to program/communicate with it?

Can you run an ssh server on it?