CES 2008: Erector / Meccano unveil three new Spyke robots (well, Spykee)
Spyke was one of the hits of last year’s CES, being a spy robot capable of trundling around the house recording video and streaming it to you over Wi-Fi. Trouble is, he never actually went on sale – makers Erector and Meccano delayed him to get the technology just right. He’s due out in September or October this year now, and has acquired an extra ‘e’ (he’s now called Spykee).
However, the companies haven’t been rested on their laurels. They have three new Spykee models set to launch later this year. Spykee Cell (above) is so named because you control him from your mobile phone, via Bluetooth. He can take photos and send them to your phone too, while he’s got a dock in front to hold your iPod. Oh, and he can act as a Bluetooth headset too.
The two other new Spykees are Spykee Vox and Spykee Miss (above – Miss is the pink one), who are voice-activated robots. So you can give them voice commands, to which they react differently depending on their moods (they come with two personalities: Hero and Villain for the Vox, and Friendly and Mean for the Miss.
They’re both programmable robots too, allowing you to customise them. And they’re also capable of acting as universal remote controls, turning on your TV, DVD player and other devices. They have iPod Nano ports in front too, for audio fun.
The Cell, Miss and Vox are all due to launch in October in the UK, just after Spykee himself. He’s likely to cost 299 Euros, the Cell will be 199 Euros, and the Miss and Vox will be 149 Euros. There isn’t a confirmed UK price yet, however.
CES 2008 Special
Read all our coverage from the show in our CES 2008 category.
