Robotics club member receives a dream niche gift: a cat-fighting-robot

Senior Alex Renda eagerly reached for his Christmas present and tore the wrapping paper from the box. When he looked down, a large, black set of eyes met his gaze. Renda received a Robosapien robot and was thoroughly delighted.

“My uncle who has always given me cool and random gifts gave me the Robosapien because he knew of my interest in robotics,” Renda said.

The WowWee Robosapien is a remote-controllable robot that retails for $80. It was designed by a former NASA engineer, who wanted the Robosapien to be highly customizable and easily modified. It can either be controlled by the remote control that comes with it or by smartphone.

“The controls are actually extremely elaborate, especially for a toy robot, and I’m still trying to become accustomed to all of them,” Renda said. “The remote has over 20 buttons and many buttons can be used in conjunction with one another to execute even more movements.”

This button layout allows for high variability in the actions of the robot. Teams of engineers have programmed the Robosapien to perform various tasks from playing soccer to speaking. Renda, however, has found another use for his robot.

“When I first brought the robot out of the packaging, my cat seemed attracted to it and started hitting it, so I decided I would fight back,” Renda said. “Commandeering the robot is not an easy task, though, and my cat typically comes out on top.”

Renda views these bouts as a harmless way of blowing off steam.

“The Robosapien provides a nice getaway from work,” Renda said. “If I’m tired of studying or lying on the couch with nothing to do, I’ll power up the Robosapien and just walk it around the house.”

According to Renda, part of the allure of the robot is derived from his love of robotics.  However, this does cause him to hesitate when deciding if he would recommend the Robosapien to a friend.

“For someone like me who loves gadgets and is interested in engineering, it’s a great gift,” Renda said. “But, I could see how someone could view it as a novelty gift, and $80 is a hefty price to pay for something that could be viewed in that light.”