More Other Countries IP Communications Stories

South Africa-based Robonica, a research and development facility, said it is going to reclassify entertainment robotics with its new product category that signifies ‘the rise of robotic gaming’.

 

Robonica said its soon to be unveiled Roboni-i Action Games is part of its vision to expand the entertainment robotics market, and is the first in a series of products that will bring out the best of advanced robotics, interactive software and Internet communities.

 

Roboni-i is a fully programmable robot vehicle with 16 sensors, four processors, RF remote control and Zigbee peer-to-peer RF protocol. By plugging the product into the PC players enter a virtual world where they can create profiles, participate in virtual missions, play online games and interact with friends who are online at the same time. Players can also program every aspect of the robot’s behavior and edit games using the PC-based Command Center software.

 

The Roboni-i product is claimed to be different from other entertainment robot with its ability to participate in interactive, socially entertaining and challenging forms of game play. It also comes packaged with game accessories and six action games enabling players to form a playing field and use the gaming controller to select a game as they enter a new dimension real-world robotic game play.

 

Roboni-i Action Games is targeted at kids of age 10 and over and is stated to get kids hooked and that will keep them entertained right through to adulthood.

 

Seasoned entrepreneur and robotic entertainment visionary Johan Poolman has said that Robonica was born out of frustration with the inability of the current generation of radio-controlled and robotic toys to provide any form of structured and interactive play, and frustration with the increasingly anti-social and intangible realities of video games.

 

Poolman, the pioneer of the robotic gaming concept added that their sole purpose is to explore new frontiers and provide the world with meaningful and entertaining forms of robotic entertainment. Robotic gaming is the evolutionary 'next step' for entertainment robotics.