No I didn’t go to the zoo. Wowwee, the makers of Robosapien, Roborapter and Robopet, have now introduced the new Alive lineup.

Wowwee is merging robotics with realism to create animals that look and act very realistic.

The first in this lineup is the Alive Chimpanzee. It is a lifelize, highly detailed, bust of a chimpanzee.

The Alive Chimpanzee uses Facetronics technology to imitate the sounds and movements of real chimpanzees.

The skin and hair of the Chimpanzee are meant to be lifelike making the experience more real to the user.

You can program the Alive Chimpanzee with your remote control or let switch him to “alive” mode where he begins to interact autonomously.

The Alive Chimpanzee has many sensors that add to the experience. There are touch sensors in his chin, ears, and head that allow him to respond accordingly (e.g. tickling his chin).

The Chimpanzee also has sound sensors so that it can react to sharp sounds from the environment around him.

It can also detect movement and track objects with its infrared sensors.

There are four moods that the Alive Chimpanzee can portray: curious, fearful, angry, and happy.

Curious: It will blink, frown and raise its eyebrows.
Angry: The Chimpanzee begins to snarl, growl and scream.
Fearful: It will whine, whimper or it could shake and close it eyes shut.

There are many motors in the head that control the facial expressions that the Alive Chimpanzee makes.

Whatever mood he is in his facial expressions and movement will clearly tell you.

You are also able to program the Alive Chimpanzee to perform animation sequences that you can string together and then play back.

The Alive Chimpanzee needs one four D batteries (not included) and one 9 volt battery. It also comes with an A/C adapter.

The unit will sell for $149.99 and is appropriate for those aged 5 and up.

What I Think

The Alive Chimpanzee is definitely a different and fresh lineup to the many robots that Wowwee has come out with.

While I was kind of disappointed that the Chimpanzee only featured the head and bust of the animal I think in the end it made sense.

Because they focused on one part of the body, they ensured that the user got the maximum experience from the Chimpanzee.

I think it would make a great toy for children or for those with a love for animals. It does look very, very real.

To find more information on the first in the Alive lineup, check out Wowee’s website.

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