CHiP The Robotic Canine

[CES 2016] It is one thing to have a pet, a real life, furry friend who goes through life’s ups and downs with you without a single complaint, and it is another if you were to take the electronic route – and this is where WowWee’s CHiP comes in. We talked about it in November last year, and CHiP was spotted on the CES Unveiled showfloor.

WowWee has always been prety good with robotic toys, and CHiP here is no exception. CHiP comes equipped with a frame that while might not stand up to the standards that Iron Man has, is still a solid polycarbonate structure that is accompanied by Mecanum wheels which allows it to move in virtually any direction, not to mention avoid obstacles as and when required. In short, CHiP is like your regular pooch – he has been created to play, and CHiP was demonstrated to “fetch” a ball, or rather, “run” after it when it detected the ball in the vicinity. It will require a special ball however with sensors inside, so do take note of that.

So far, we have not seen CHiP work on surfaces other than that of a carpeted area, so it remains to be seen whether CHiP would perform just as admirably well on anywhere else other than the carpet. CHiP also boasts of a SmartBand wristband that enables the user to teach him new tricks – and these tricks are available only via the CHiP app. The SmartBand works by triggering CHiP’s patented Loyalty Sense technology, letting him follow you like a good pet dog should.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: CES, CES 2016, chip, wowwee