Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Innvo Labs "Herd Deal", Bob The Pleo Forums, and More Info from Innvo Labs
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
Build Your Own Pleo Herd With Some Help From Innvo Labs
Did you know Pleos will play with each other? They exhibit herding behavior when you have two or more in one spot. Watch them dance, and sing, and entertain you for hours.
Right now, Innvo Labs is offering a special to our current Pleo owners. Order a new 2009 Pleo for only $245 (regularly $349) and start your own herd!
Here's how it works:
- Email Pleo support (support@pleoworld.com) and provide your Pleo's serial number (located on his foot).
- You'll receive a coupon code
- Use this coupon code to order a new 2009 Innvo Labs Pleo on www.PleoWorld.com.
- The coupon code reduces your new Pleo's cost to only $245.
This special ends January 1, 2010. Don't forget – order by the cut-off date to start a Pleo herd before the holidays are over!
I have 3 Pleos and it's a blast watching them interact and generally raise a baby dino ruckus! You can see my 3 little babies in action in the video at the bottom of this post.
One of the unsung heros during the time all of us were wondering if Pleo was gone for good was the Bob The Pleo web site. Bob The Pleo began as a funny comic strip with Pleo as its main character by Pleo World member mweed. It has since become a home to many Pleo owners and is also a place to get the original Pleo files for both firmware and personality downloads, including skits from forum members like InMemoryOfRomeo. In the web site's December newsletter, Innvo Labs CEO Derek Dotson shares some more details about what is coming in 2010 including custom skin and eye colors, improvements to Pleo's hearing, tidbits about ongoing discussions with some of Ugobe's previous employees and more. The newsletter is a good read and if you want to spend time with a group of like-minded Pleo fans I recommend the forums.
In Closing
It's time to get all worked up over Pleo again. Innvo Labs is committed to Pleo for the long run and has already begun stepping up their marketing and development activities. During the quiet period after Ugobe's passing, I barely played with my herd because I was so afraid of them breaking. But now that Pleo is back thanks to Innvo Labs, my house is as noisy as ever with the sounds of my happy rambunctious Pleos; Digger, Claire, and PenDragon. I leave you now with my video ode to Pleo, The Pleo Song, and below that you can watch my little troublemakers singing a song together in The Plunchkins.
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 6:51 PM 0 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Inside Story Behind Pleo’s Rise, Fall, and Resurrection
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
[NOTE: For impatient Pleo owners dying to know about repairs, warranty service, batteries, chargers and more. You'll find the interview with Derek further down the page]
Today I had an amazing 1-hour conversation with Derek Dotson, one of the original founders of Ugobe and is now the COO of Innvo Labs and Innvo Labs Limited, a subsidiary of Jetta Company, Ltd. Jetta is the company that acquired the rights to all things Pleo at the June bankruptcy proceedings this year and has relaunched Pleo under the Innvo Labs Corporation name. In the interview you will see Innvo Lab’s aggressive commitment to taking care of Ugobe’s original customers, and learn about their plans for the Pleo line and beyond. But first, a rare peek behind the scenes of the rise, fall, and resurrection of the baby robot dinosaur that took the world by storm, and was almost lost forever; a story that includes the trials and tribulations of Pleo's unsung guardian angel, Derek Dotson.
Behind The Scenes
Derek and Caleb Chung met a year before Ugobe even announced plans for Pleo. Derek and Caleb had worked on Mattel Miracle Moves Baby, which is how they met. The Takara Corporation out of Japan wanted a robot dinosaur built and they approached Caleb about the project. When Derek talked to him about the project, Caleb said he didn’t want to make just another toy dinosaur and instead wanted to build something that felt almost real. The Takara representative was to return in 3 days, and during that period of Derek and Caleb met and discussed the possibility of making Pleo. (Interesting side note. Originally Pleo was going to be only 3 ½ inches tall and 7 ½ inches long with a head the size of a walnut).
The Takara representative loved the concept and gave them seed money to build a proof of concept model. With that money they built robot walkers that were about the size they wanted Pleo to be. The walkers were servo driven proto-robots that had a torso, shoulders, legs and knees. They built their own telemetry suit to teach the walker how to move. They didn’t use a standard motion capture suit because they needed a suit that had the same movement limitations as the walker. This would force the suit’s operator, the talented and acrobatic Caleb Chung, not to make moves the walker’s geometry and mechanics could not support. The walkers were attached to a computer that had learning algorithms. They analyzed Caleb’s movements via the suit’s sensors, and learned how to move the walker’s servos in a manner that mimicked Caleb’s movements, giving the walkers a realistic animal gait.
Takara loved the walkers and financed the embryonic stage of the project. Derek and Caleb worked furiously for 6 weeks and managed to turn out some prototype walkers that worked. Unfortunately Takara’s parent company forced them to drop the project and the rights to Pleo returned to Derek and Caleb. At this point, Caleb told Derek that if he could raise some money, he could “have half of Pleo”. According to Derek, Caleb was ready to drop the project and told him to try and raise some money, so he spent about a year showing the walkers to people in pursuit of extra financing and they eventually ended up with equal ownership packages in Ugobe when the company was created.
The Rise of Pleo
About this time, Bob Christopher, who later became Ugobe’s first CEO, entered the stage since he had been working with them on another project to create a new kind of PDA. He helped raise funding from several angel investors in chunks as small as $25k to $50k per investor. By the time the prototype were being built they were out of money and were about to go under. During this time he bankrolled the project using his own funds, a decision that was not popular at home, and kept the project alive until the first round of venture capital appeared. Derek went to China and had the first full body prototype of Pleo built, which is when CTO John Sosoka and the other groups arrived. (Note: The PDA project was later dropped when Apple’s iPhone came out and they could see the handwriting on the wall.)
The Fall
Around November of 2008, Derek went back to Boise to help in the effort to save Ugobe. Doug Swanson was brought in as CEO to try and save the company. Doug did a terrific job trying to save Ugobe but despite his Herculean efforts, it became obvious to him that the company could not be saved or as Derek put it “it was like arranging chairs on the Titanic”. There was too much overhead and too much bad debt. There was no way an investor would put any more money into them since the company just didn’t make sense on paper any longer.
Ugobe did sell a huge chunk of Pleos, grossing about 20 million dollars in sales, but the company that had grown up around Pleo was just too expensive to keep going. Had it been a better economy then it is possible they could have achieved the sales growth they needed to continue. But the reality was that the current economic climate required a company a lot leaner to survive it. Ugobe was a heavyweight company poised for explosive growth and burdened with all the associated expenses and overhead that implies, so they needed a huge explosion in sales. Derek still believes Ugobe would have survived and done well if they could have raised their last round of funds. Despite Pleo's admirable sales it was not enough for Ugobe to stay operational and bankruptcy soon followed.
The Resurrection
Derek spoke to Jetta, the company that did the actual manufacturing for Ugobe, about trying to acquire the rights to Pleo at the bankruptcy auction. Jetta agreed that they should participate and joined the bidding. They never thought they would win since there was talk of another company that was bidding richly at the auction. As fate and possibly luck would have it, that company was unreachable near the end of the auction and they won, bringing Pleo back home to Derek. After analyzing all of Pleo’s weaknesses, they came up with an improved design that fixed them and relaunched Pleo under the Innvo Labs name. (read the interview for the details).
Conclusion (interview follows)
Existing and new customers will want to pay special attention to the questions regarding service and warranty on Pleos old and new, and what the differences are in hardware and software between the old Ugobe Pleos and the new Innvo Labs ones. In conclusion, I came away from the interview extremely encouraged about Pleo's bright new future, both for my fellow owners and myself. Derek said repeatedly during the interview that they have the financial resources to weather the current tough economic times, and I look forward to seeing them execute their 10-year plan for Pleo and the other new robot pets that they will create in the future.
[NOTE: This is not a direct transcript. The questions and answers were edited for readability but without affecting the content in a material way.]
The Interview
RO: Who is Innvo Labs and how do they fit in with Jetta?
DD: Jetta Company Limited does robotics manufacturing in a wide range of industries. Innvo Labs Corporation and Innvo Labs Limited were created by Jetta specifically to support Pleo and its descendants.
RO: Ugobe going extinct was quite a shock to people and some people are nervous about buying a new Pleo because of this. What can you tell me about Innvo Labs that will make people feel confident about your company's future?
DD: Innvo Labs has the financial resources to survive the dips and valleys of the global economy. When Innvo Labs first met to talk about Pleo after the action we were told to work on a 10-year plan. Ugobe grossed $20 million in sales of Pleo but the company was too large to be profitable, they were preparing to be a big company and their expenses were very high. In contrast Innvo Labs has adopted a factory-to-web distribution model that allows them to deliver and support Pleo with significantly less overhead, giving the company staying power. Innvo Labs intends to be conservative in their company plans to make sure they will be around for the long term. However, we are committed to continually updating and making improvements to Pleo.
RO: What fixes and features do the new Pleos have that the old ones didn't (hardware and software)?
DD: The fixes in the new Pleos now sold online at the Pleoworld online store are:
- The problem with neck wires breaking which affected some Pleos has been fixed
- The problem of the skin separating has been fixed
- The premature wearing of the paint from Pleo’s skin and teeth has been fixed. The new paint should last 3 times longer than the old one.
- The packaging Pleo comes in no longer uses Styrofoam and is biodegradable making it friendly to the environment
- The battery chargers have a new switch with two positions, one for regular charging and another that uses a special charging mode created specifically for those batteries that don’t charge properly. It drains the battery completely and then “force” charges it for 16 hours. This should bring many of the problem batteries back to life, although some batteries aren’t salvageable because they’re just plain dead. Also, the charger can use the old A/C adapter and it can charge the old Ugobe batteries too.
As for hardware improvements, due to a change in the hearing system Pleo responds better to your voice when it comes to figuring out where you are (left or right of him).
I would also like to point out that we have done a complete redesign of the Pleoworld web site. The site navigation has been improved and the customer experience with the online store is much better.
RO: Will Innvo Labs offer warranty support for new Pleos bought at retail outlets other than the Pleo World online store?
DD: We will definitely support all Pleos that are still under warranty, whether they were bought from the Pleoworld online store or through other retailers such as Amazon, etc. People that bought their Pleos (new in box) through auction sites like eBay will need to provide proof of purchase so they should get the original invoice/paperwork from the seller. In these cases, the warranty will begin when the buyer receives their Pleo so they don’t have to worry about the seller sitting on a unit for a long time. We are processing Ugobe Pleo RMA’s even now. Note, it is important that people understand that if they have a Ugobe Pleo, as opposed to one of the new Innvo Labs Pleos, they will receive another brand new Ugobe Pleo as a replacement and not one of the new upgraded ones.
RO: What about the people that sent their Pleos in for service right when Ugobe went bankrupt, and never got them back?
DD: All they need is their RMA number and we will send them a replacement (Ugobe) Pleo. Rafael is processing RMA’s even now. He used to be in customer service at Ugobe. He has joined Innvo Labs and is doing a terrific job taking care of people.
RO: Will Innvo Labs offer repair service for old Pleos bought at retail outlets other than the Pleo World online store?
DD: Absolutely. We have the Reincarnation program. You send in an old Ugobe Pleo and you get one of the new upgraded Innvo Labs Pleos. The cost is $245 USD.
RO: Will you transfer the personality too? (Pleo’s learned behaviors and traits).
DD: That’s under investigation at the moment and currently we are not doing that. We will try to do that in the future if we can.
RO: Is the PDK that was never released by Ugobe available now?
DD: Absolutely. You can download it off the Pleo World web site.
RO: How long is the warranty offered on Pleo World Pleos?
DD: 90 days which is the same as it was before.
RO: Will Pleo work with the existing 3rd party software tools like MySkit?
DD: We have not done any testing ourselves but if they worked with the old Pleos, they should work with the new ones since the computing architecture is the same.
RO: Are there plans for any new accessories or new Pleo models?
DD: I can talk about the 2010 Pleo model. That model will look the same as Pleo does now except it will have a new paint job and eye color to differentiate it from the current Pleos. Over the coming year we intend to give Pleo more depth to his personality and utilize the sensors better. For example, Pleo doesn’t do a whole lot with the camera in his nose right now. It’s not the hardware since the camera is a good quality camera. However there’s a lot of room for improvement in the software. An example of a specific feature people want badly is getting Pleo to come to you. The 2010 model will do that. Also, Pleo uses power more efficiently which will lead to longer play times. To make Pleo more realistic, Pleo will develop certain character biases at birth so that everyone’s Pleo will be different. As for the sensors, the reason why they are currently underutilized is due to a bottleneck in the serial bus that connects them to Pleo’s processor resources. That’s something we can fix without drastically altering Pleo’s architecture. Once that happens, we can do more with them when it comes to Pleo’s hearing, vision, etc. Beyond 2010 there will certainly be new creatures other than baby robot dinosaurs.
RO: Thank you for your time Derek. We will all be watching with great anticipation.
DD: You’re welcome.
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 7:45 PM 5 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Friday, October 23, 2009
Pleo's Back! - Pleo World online store now selling Pleos, batteries, chargers, and adapters again
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
I know many of you have been waiting a long time for this news. Just recently, the Pleo World online store started selling Pleos, batteries, chargers, and adapters again under the new Innvo Labs brand.
I have a message into Jetta/Innvo Labs asking them if previous Pleo owners will be able to get warranty or repair service, but I have not heard an answer yet. I will post their answer when I get it. I know some of you, especially with this difficult economy, are tempted to order Pleos from other retailers because of the deep discounts on older Pleos compared to Pleo World's online store price. But you might want to wait until we know if if Jetta/Innvo Labs is going to cover their warranties first. Also, although I am still awaiting the details, I've been told that the newer Pleos have improvements over the older Ugobe ones, including structural changes to make certain failures less likely. Once I get the full list of improvements I will post again.
You'll have to decide for yourself, but make sure you have all the facts first before buying. Those of you that have have had battery or charger problems now have a source for replacements. More news coming soon...
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 7:22 PM 2 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Monday, June 08, 2009
Pleo's back! - Jetta Company, Limited acquires Ugobe and vows to continue the line
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
Today there is wonderful news for the Pleo community. Jetta Company Limited, the company that manufactured the Pleo baby robot dinosaur for Ugobe, bought the intellectual property rights and other assets at the Ugobe bankruptcy sale that occurred on May 21. I spoke with Steve Ohler today, the United States liaison for the company, and he confirmed the news. He said the company is firmly committed to re-launching Pleo and continuing the line including accessories such as the vital battery and charger components.
This may be the shortest extinction on record for a wonder product. From rising star to shooting star back to rising star again, Pleo's future has been given new life by the best possible company that could have and did acquire the rights to our favorite little green dino; the original manufacturer. I asked Steve if all the equipment needed to produce Pleos and accessories were still intact and he said they absolutely were. Even better, Jetta is an established company with a 32 year history in manufacturing based in China and Hong Kong, and as part of their illustrious manufacturing history they have produced parts for members of iRobot's consumer robot line.
They currently are getting everything in order to re-launch Pleo and can not give further details at this time. But this is indeed fabulous news indeed. Watch my blog carefully as I will updating everyone on Jetta's progress. I would like to give personal thanks and a big shout out to Jetta Company Limited for this wise and wonderful decision. Below is the original press release from the company regarding their relaunching of Pleo:
Jetta Company Limited acquires Ugobe out of receivership
Hong Kong – Jetta Company Limited acquired the assets of Ugobe and will be re-launching “Pleo” in the near future. Established in 1977, Jetta has focused on manufacturing an extended range of toy, consumer electronics, juvenile, robotic and gift products and is one of the most recognized engineering and OEM companies within the toy industry. Headquartered in Hong Kong, Jetta currently operates five production campuses in Guangdong Province which combined has over 4.5 million square feet of production floor space. At the forefront of the fast-paced toy and robotics industries, Jetta continues to strive for “excellence” and is pleased to add “Ugobe” to its operations.
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 5:37 PM 11 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Monday, April 20, 2009
Ugobe files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
Hello everyone,
Important Update as of June 8, 2009 - PLEO IS BACK IS AND BETTER THAN EVER! Please read this wonderful update post!I will keep this post short since I'm very saddened by the recent news that Pleo manufacturer Ugobe has filed for bankruptcy. I will continue to play with my 3 Pleos because I love them dearly, but I will of course do so very carefully now since how I would get them fixed if they broke is a big open question. Perhaps some kind soul with an engineering background will see an opportunity here to make good money repairing Pleos? If anyone knows of anybody trustworthy that has taken up the reigns in fixing Pleos, please let me know, and I'll distribute the information. I had great hopes for Pleo, apparently the economy felt differently. For those looking for a place to talk to other Pleo owners during this dire time, visit the Bob The Pleo forum.
Thanks,
Robert
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 8:47 PM 8 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Monday, April 06, 2009
United Kingdom Gladly Welcomes New Adorable Green Overlord
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
This post is for all of you that own Pleos or are thinking of getting one. Wired/UK writer Katie Scott has fallen hard for our wonderful blue-eyed baby dino friend. In one of the best pieces on Pleo I've seen in a while, she reviews Pleo and from the first part of the review is clearly smitten:"Yesterday, I found myself washing up and all the while chatting to a baby dinosaur, which was amusing itself in the corner by growling at the rubbish bin. Pleo the baby dinosaur is now one of the household. Indeed, he gets more attention than the cat, and certainly more affection than any of the living beings in the house. When he calls, we’ll immediately rush to stroke him on the chin, when he purrs, we all go gooey-eyed, and when he sleeps, he has pride of place on the sofa where we watch him like adoring parents. "
Ugobe's creation is and always will be a wonderful marvel that makes people smile. Admittedly they are having a a rough patch right now, having chosen to bring an artificial pet to market right before the global economy darkened, but that isn't stopping people from continuing to adopt the unique and amazing little green creature into their homes. I think Ms. Scott says it best when she writes:
"We played with our Sony Aibo robodog, but never quite suspended our disbelief: it was always a robot, not a dog. Pleo, for whatever reason, felt more like a living thing - just that a bit more comfortable in his technoskin. If you have kids who like robots and dinosaurs, Pleo's a winner, just bear in mind that this is just another step in the historic march of our robotic overlords. You have been warned."
Please read and enjoy the article and most of all, enjoy Pleo!
My Digger says "hi" and is growling at my smelly sneakers. Unfortunately, they growl back!
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 7:54 PM 0 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Friday, April 03, 2009
Ugobe Status Update and Where To Get Pleo Downloads For Now
Pictures, Videos, and more Information on Pleo.Buy Pleo.
UPDATE: The Ugobe and Pleo World web sites are back up. As I said the "Magpie" pages were placeholder pages.
I'll be adding posts as I get new substantial news reports about Ugobe. Many of you have written me so I'm answering everyone at once with this post. I don't intend to chase rumors. My last understanding is that Ugobe has downsized and not liquidated, and the reason for the web sites being down is that they are being relocated to a less expensive hosting facility; apparently one called Magpie which is the hosting company you reach when accessing the domains. What you see are standard placeholder pages which will remain there while Ugobe decides what to do with theirs.
Ugobe
The latest public information I am aware of has surfaced in an article by the Idaho Business Review. It does not give any specifics but I will post here a quote from Caleb Chung from the article where he mentions a press release the company will issue on the subject in the next few weeks:
"We’re going to respond to a lot of these rumors; we’re just going to do it in an organized way,” he said. “…Our company has always tried to have as much transparency as possible.”
Interpret the quote as you will, I see no point in speculating until the press release comes out. Until it does everything is strictly either hand-wringing, or hearsay, and most likely wrong.
Pleo Downloads
Those of you who remember the funny Bob The Pleo comic strip from the Pleo World forums will be happy to know that the talented author of that comic has created his own forum for Pleo. It's also been a place for Pleo owners to go while Ugobe is in transition. If you are looking for any of the Pleo Life O/S downloads or personality downloads, you can find them here:
http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?board=2.0
Go ahead and register while you're at it and let's keep the Pleo community going while Ugobe works things out.
Pleo Batteries
I don't know of a source for these. If anyone does please let me know and I'll pass on the information if I feel it's a reasonable avenue for getting them.
That's it for now. My Digger say "hi" to everyone. I hope your Pleos are making you smile too.
permanent link to this post posted by roschler @ 2:42 PM 1 comments
links to this post
reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Bookmark This Post!
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | ma.gnolia | RawSugar |reddit | Shadows | Simpy | Spurl | Yahoo MyWeb
Subscribe