Programming RoboSapien & WowWee's Robots
One of the more appealing things about RoboSapien for adults, although it is not that widely known, is that WowWee's robots can be programmed and controlled by a computer with an Infra Red (IR) transmitter attached.
You can get a USB-UIRT (Universal Infrared Reciever / Transmitter) from www.usbuirt.com for about £25 ($50), which connects to your computer through the USB port, and then by using some downloadable software, the computer & IR transmitter transmits the same IR signals as the RoboSapien remote control, allowing you to control the robot with the computer software, save & edit complex programs that you cannot achieve using the remote control programming mode.The USB-UIRT will work for any infrared device, such as your TV, DVD player, etc. which use Infrared remote controls. As the UIRT is also an IR reciever, you can use existing remote controls to perform actions on your computer. 
In addition to a USB-UIRT, you will need to download a program like RoboDance (www.robodance.com) (alternatively called RoboSapien Dance Machine), which allows easy drag & drop programming of the RoboSapien remote control commands. You can sequence movements, and also reactions, for example: you can instruct it to walk forward until it senses a wall infront of it, then turn, or do something else. Also the popular 'Guard Mode', where the robot is still until it senses movement or sound, at which time it wakes up and heads straight for the noise, karate chopping or whatever you want.The new RoboDance version 3.x software works with RoboSapien, RoboSapien V2, RoboRaptor and RoboPet, you need to sign up to the mailing list (www.robodance.com/#subscribe) in order to download it. If you just want support for the original RoboSapien, then you can download the 2.x version straight from SourceForge at http://sourceforge.net/projects/robodance/. 
RoboDance also allows you to use voice control on the robot, with a microphone headset connected to your computer, the computer interprets the voice and then sends the associated command to the USB-UIRT, which transmits it to the robot. Pretty neat, but why stop there? You can also use the Nintendo Wiimote controller to control RoboSapien! You don't even need to own a Wii, just the controller, which connects wirelessly to your computer through Bluetooth (you'll need a Bluetooth USB dongle for your PC, but these are dirt cheap), the computer then interprets the Wiimote's movements and sends commands through the USB-UIRT to the robot. Use both the voice control and Wiimote control at the same time for some great fun. Watch a video demonstrating the Wiimote used with RoboDance >>
Being able to be controlled & programmed by a computer really sets the WowWee robots at a level significantly above being simply toys, they are one step along towards the little Japanese Plen, the acrobatic Robonova-1, also the discontinued Sony Aibo. WowWee offer a good introduction to robotic humanoids, if you are seriously into robotics you can progress on to a kit robot like Robonova-1, KHR-1 or Bioloid. Click here for more info about advanced kit robots.Links: RoboDance www.robodance.com SourceForge RoboDance Project (Download) Buy WowWee's Robots at very reasonable prices from Amazon: Email this story to a friend  Add this link to:            
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