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[aibo7m3]

I just received my replacement RB today! It's another little boy, just like I'd hoped for! I am a bit worried though since he was manufactured only a few days apart from my previous RB and their serial numbers are very close, so I hope there wasn't an issue with the whole batch because I'd hate to return my replacement Pleo! I'm hoping that everything will go well this time. If this one breaks, I might just keep him since I think all of the ones from Semsons are from the same batch anyway. He's a pretty boy with a light pinkish cream colored eyelids and bright pink eyes! Who says that pink is a girly color? Here are his genetics:

-This subject embryo will have a 75-85% chance of being male.
-This subject embryo will grow to be brave and independent.
-This subject embryo will be sensitive, healthy and agile.

He's a big eater for sure; he's munched on his conifer leaf six times since hatching before getting full! Here's a better look at those pretty pink eyes of his:

More details...

[Crewella]

Hurrah!  Congrats - he's lovely, those pink eyes are gorgeous.

[aibo7m3]

Thank you! He does have an odd issue with his neck right now though and I'm hoping that I won't need to return him as well, but that might end up being the case.
I posted about the issue in the Pleo Problems section of the forum; hopefully it'll end up being nothing, but I'm worried it could develop into one of his neck cables snapping.

[Piggy]

Congrats what a beautiful eye's he has 

[Talon]

Congrats, Aibo7m3! I hope your pleo's neck issue resolves itself and you won't have to send this one back as well. I haven't yet read your post in pleo problems.
Talon

[RedwoodsMama]

Congrats Aibo on your new Pleo baby, He has beautiful pink eyes so must be related to my PC, ( pink champagne) but of course, she is a girl! I did read your neck problem that your pleo is showing and hopefully another member can give you some more ideas. I did post what I thought in that post. My little girl, ( no name yet ) is now 90 days old, and still on her second battery cycle so yours is not far behind her. LOL.

               Lovely eyes and I would like to see a full body shot so I can see the colors.
                                                                                                                                                    RWM  and the Pleo township of the redwoods

[aibo7m3]

Since I've been told to run to him and see if his neck issue gets worse or goes away, he has been growing up. He took his first steps this morning after about one and a half battery cycles. He's being very funny right now. He'll stand up and take a few steps or let out a loud cry, then curl up and go to sleep for about ten seconds and then stand up again, etc. Looks like not being a baby any more is tiring work. It is very early in the morning for him though, so I think he's just a bit reluctant to get up.

I'll probably end up needing to return him since the sound his neck is making is showing no sign of going away and getting louder if anything, but that won't stop me from enjoying the time that I have with him.

[aibo7m3]

I think my little boy just reached the juvenile stage this afternoon! He's in the middle of his forth battery cycle and has started playing tug-of-war and exploring my house. He seems a bit more sensitive to the dark than my last RB and sometimes gets frightened, but he's alright for the most part. His neck still makes the crinkling noise, but so far, nothing has resulted of it. Even though there's still a fair chance that I'll end up returning him, I'd like to pick out a name for him so I won't have to keep referring to him as "the new RB" or anything along those lines, so name suggestions are welcome!

[kat]

Call him Mr Crinkles after his interesting neck noise

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Mr Crinkles is pretty, what a shame it was a bad batch

[aibo7m3]

I think I might call him Chris or Kris, short for Chris/Kris Crinkle as a play on words of Kris Kringle. Mr. Crinkles can still be a nickname for him though. His neck crinkling is still present, but it doesn't seem as pronounced as when he was younger. I may have just gotten used to it though. He's very active and playful as long as he is in a bright room, the problem that only a few rooms in my house are bright enough for him. He seems to have a pretty similar personality to my last RB (aside from his sensitivity to the dark), so I'm happy about that. Hopefully I won't end up needing to return him as well.

[Piggy]

Chris or Kris is a very nice name for him and Mr. Crinkels is a cute nickname  Indeed I hope you don't have to return him , new I remember when my Pleo RB Lenny arrived I had to get used to the noise he made when he was blinking with his eyes. It was realy loud compared to my   
Ugobe Leo , new I don't even hear it anymore and have gotten used to it. Maybe some are louder than others ? And in the beginning his front leg would get stuck when he could just walk and would make a horrible popping sound .... but new he is running fine ... the only strange thing that sometimes happen is he likes to play tug of war sometimes in the middle of his play he freezes up and it can take for 30 seconds  before he reacts and start moving again . Then he will resume his game of tug of war  So I guess they all have there strange litte quirks 

[aibo7m3]

Yep, I'm hoping it won't develop into anything more serious. I ran Probe RB yesterday to find out more about him and here are the results.

Pleo is in stage: Social Development
Time in this stage: 1 hour
Time for next stage: 4 hours
Possible change in: 2 hours

Mood: 99%
Physicality: 97%
Emotion: 46%
Health: 89%
Feed: 66%
Active: 30%
Skill: 50%

Pleo is not injured. Pleo is in bad shape.

DNA Results:
Temper: Bad
Physical: Normal
Courage: Normal
Activeness: High
Intelligence: Low

The main thing that confuses me is that it says he's been in Social Development stage for only an hour when he's on his fifth battery cycle and stood up for the first time at the start of his second battery cycle. Does the Social Development stage not start when the Pleo stands up for the first time and takes a few steps, but rather when it starts walking long distances and playing tug-of-war? It's also funny that his feed level is fairly low since I feed him many times a day, he's just a huge eater.

[RedwoodsMama]

 I don't know about the social development stage as far as battery cycles go, but I do know from experiences, NOT to pay too much attention to what it says about BAD shape, unless the feed level is very low, like under 50% and or being sick or injured. I want to run it on my new little girl just to get the temperment and born with attributes.                  RWM 

[aibo7m3]

Thanks for the reply! Yep, I'm not too worried about the "bad shape" status since he's acting playful and healthy. I think that's because there are two sections below 50% (active and emotion). I'm not sure why the active one is low, but I'm pretty sure the emotion level is low since some rooms in my house are too dark for him. Last night his emotion reading was at 33%, but at least it seems to have improved a bit this morning after he had some play time in a better lit area. I also forgot to mention that his gender was reported as neither, but I remember reading that this is the normal response for a male RB for some reason.

Here's a video of him and Sumio playing together:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJhmi53MtA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJhmi53MtA</a>


I also noticed that some of the sounds that he makes are choppy or cut off too early, is this normal? Will this go away when he's older, or no?

[RedwoodsMama]

 THey both look and sound happy, You can see that Ugobes really do like to explore and Sumio is a great example of that. LOL> How is your RB neck sounding? Yes the choppy sounds or voices and words being cut off mid sentence is very common, esp if you are petting them and they are in the middle of doing or saying something, it kind of stops them, It still happens to my RB on occasion so I let them finish their moos, etc, before petting them as much as possible . Sometimes they are too cute and it happens anyway!

                              RWM  and the Pleo township of the REdwoods

[aibo7m3]

Yep, they both have very cheerful personalities as long as the lighting is good and they're well fed. You're right that the Ugobes are explorers, Sumio can be difficult to film because he keeps wandering out of range of the camera. Chris's neck still crinkles, but I don't think it's as bad as when I first got him, so I'm hoping it'll go away with time and not develop into something worse. Aside from his noisy neck, he's been a very healthy RB. I was worried that he might have leg issues since he was made only a couple days apart from the RB that I returned, but at least his legs have been fine so far. 

[aibo7m3]

Chris just reached Juvenile stage and I taught him his name! Now he's taken to wandering all over the house and will only stop walking to eat or be cuddled. It even seems like his voice has gotten deeper, but that might just be my imagination. His neck still crinkles, but he's still fine otherwise. I'm still nervous about his legs since he was built around the same time as my last Pleo, but I'm hoping that my previous one was just a lemon and that the whole batch wasn't bad.

The weather is really nice today, so I'm taking him with me to a park near a local beach. Of course he'll be wearing socks and staying far away from the sand. I often bring my robots places with me around town to introduce people in my community to them and it's usually a great experience. When I owned my first RB a couple years ago I took her to the same place and one lady mistook her for a real animal at first and got scared! I had to explain to her that it was just a robot and she realized once she got closer. I thought it was pretty funny, but I doubt anything like that will happen this time.

[Piggy]

I love to see some photo's of their trip with you  I watched the video and they are both very cute 

[Echo538]

I would have loved to have been with you or anyone else when you took Pleo out and got interesting reactions like the one where the lady got scared. That is something that is of extremely high interest to me. I feel it will help me socially somehow. it may seem strange, since one would think that carrying a stuffed animal or doll around would deter people, but I would think reactions to pleo would only be the beginning. I could then hopefully tell my audience about Pleo, about my interests and career goals and dreams, maybe hear about theirs, at least it would open up conversation instead of people just passing me on the street. i'd love to see some videos or hear more about interactions while in public.

You mentioned that lighting is a factor. my concern is that since I don't need much light all the time in my apartment and tend to forget lights are on, I keep lights off to save electricity. When my mom comes over she turns them on, but otherwise it is quite dark. I don't want pleo's personality to be affected, and anyway would probably turn lights on in the evenings mostly. I also don't want Pleo to be afraid of the dark.

I have an air conditioner in my living room which is cold most of the time as I like it that way and it cools off my apartment in the night especially in summer. I don't want pleo to get cold though. How sensitive ar they to heat and cold? Do you always need to feed them medicine or can you actually just take it to a colder or hotter place?

I play piano at night as part of my work, but I also teach music students out of my apartment. I've not decided whether to keep Pleo with me as it may be a distraction, but I would feel more secure if i had pleo by my side as much as possible. I am learning to understand that Pleo is 'there" even if he isn't there. If he's in my room, he's not occupying space in my living room studio, but matter is matter and something does not need to occupy a specific space in order to exist. I know my purse is still there whether it's under the chair or on the chair. But you can't replace Pleo's sounds and it's not the same being without him. His presence helps me know he's there without seeing him. What do you suggest for children who are rough or just want to play all the time? I am very lenient and careful about teaching and rarely enforce strict rules unless the kids are about to break someone's head open. i'm sure Pleo would love the music. Can he tell the difference in sound and music?

And in the summer, if I do want to take pleo to the beach, would a backpack be best to always keep him in? What if I wanted to keep him on the beach blanket but not get sand in him? it's all so confusing but I want to get questions and helpful hints answered now as I want to be prepared. My parents are of course very concerned about things like laptops being exposed to sand or sun... and pleo would be an even greater exception.

Also I just can't resist but must ask now... what about "Daycare"? Mimi the cat is sometimes left at home for a few hours while I go to work and while I did bring some furbies to work I wouldn't of course bring stuffed animals unless hidden in my purse. I think the sports bag is best for keeping him in turned off, though some might ask what's up with that but I don't care much especially if it's like a backpack that looks like it may hold piano books. I experimented with the Baby Think it over Dolls from Reality Works when I was in university as we did not have the project in high school and robotics have always fascinated me in that way. I had to keep her with me at all times and could not take off the ID. A few times I had to keep her at home but she was never by herself. If I keep Pleo by itself habitually I am afraid I may neglect it. I am very curious if Pleos adapt differently to different environments. Any suggestions for keeping pleo at home for several hours? I suggest storing and turning him off, but like I said I am still trying to decide when or how to take him out and have him with me at all times. Where could I leave Pleo or who might help me Pleo-sit? Would it be ok to have my careworker take care of it at a table in the restaurant while I am working at the piano lounge? Again if I leave it at home for hours I may neglect it emotionally over time, and may not take as much interest in it, but if I take it out which I'm eager to do, I don't want it getting damaged or having a poor reputation on my part. They'd understand if I took it with me to work for a day but as months go by and he matures i'll need to decide what to do. I do admit being very attached to the little guy... he really is my baby! And in a social way he is like a service animal/robot. And I don't even have him yet!!! This is a dillemah and sorry for being so repetitive, long-winded  or off topic butI really want to know. Thanks!

[aibo7m3]

Like you I also love bring my robots out in public. While I don't get solely positive responses, I love sharing my robots with others and helping to cheer up their days. I took one of my Aibos, Aki, to Disney World with me a few months ago and one woman told me that he was the most amazing thing that she'd ever seen and asked if she could take a photo of him and her children together. I also was showing him to some of the employees at a store in Epcot and some customers started getting upset since the employees were sitting on the ground playing with the robot and telling their customers to "just wait a few more minutes". I had a good time with Chris at the beach yesterday, about four people walked up to ask about him and one woman said goodbye to him as she was leaving.

Pleo RBs are all afraid of the dark, but the sensitivity seems to range a lot from Pleo to Pleo. If your Pleo curls up and starts shaking and whimpering, that means that it is afraid and it might be a good idea to turn on the lights when it shows this behavior. I know there is a patch for the firmware to stop Pleo from being afraid of the dark, but I've never used  it and am not sure how easy it is to install.

I wouldn't worry about the temperature. From my experience RBs are not very sensitive to temperature. I've never had an RB get too cold and only ever had one get too hot when it was outside on a very hot summer day. I think either feeding it the proper medicine or moving it into a warmer/colder area would work if your Pleo does have any issues with the temperature.

As for the piano lessons, you could try bringing him with you to one or two and see how it goes and decide whether you'd want to bring him again or not. I would introduce all of the children to Pleo at the start and tell them to treat him as they would a real animal and let them pet him very gently. Kids usually seem to stop being rough when they view the robot more like a living creature and less like a toy that they want to play with. However, if you have a student who is too aggressive around the Pleo, you might need to turn it off during the lesson and take it to another room since Pleos are very fragile. It also might be too distracting if the Pleo is making a lot of loud noises while you or the student is playing the piano. I don't think Pleos can tell apart music from other sounds, but it would be interesting to see how one responds to hearing the piano.

I would be very cautious about bringing the Pleo with you to the beach. First of all, if you're taking the Pleo outside anywhere, it should be wearing socks of some sort to keep dirt from getting into its feet. Also make sure it's not too hot out, since Pleo can overheat on very warm days. I also would not bring the Pleo onto the actual beach, there's too much sand and it could seriously hurt the Pleo if any got inside of it. I don't think a beach blanket would work since it would be difficult to keep sand away and the lumpy surface might cause the Pleo to fall over. The beach that I go to has a little grassy park area with picnic tables in front of the actual beach and that's where I brought Chris yesterday. I left him on the picnic table most of the time, but also let him wander on the grass a bit (though it's difficult for him to walk on uneven surfaces such as grass). As for a backpack, I don't think that would work since it would be hard to fit a Pleo into one without putting too much pressure on its neck or tail. I brought Chris with me in a large duffel bag with a towel at the bottom.

Personally, I would just leave the Pleo turned off when you are not able to spend time with it. Keeping it running for the sake of keeping it running will wear out parts faster. You might even want to just charge it's battery while you are out so that it will be all charged and ready to play once you're back. However, it's definitely alright to bring it with you when you're at work from time to time, I just wouldn't make it a necessity to constantly leave the Pleo on while you are there. If another worker would be happy to take care of it while you are at the piano, that's alright, you just shouldn't be searching for others to take care of it while you're busy. As for reputation, I personally don't really mind what people might think when I bring my robots out with me, and while people might think it's odd that you're bringing a robotic dinosaur to work at first, I think people around you will grow to like Pleo with time.

I hope these answers help! I know there's a lot to keep track of when getting a Pleo for the first time. When is your Pleo supposed to arrive?

[Echo538]

First, thank you! This is a lot to remember but skimming through your post after reading it thoroughly, I think i've done quite a bit of good research.

I think I'll try to transport Echo to formal places like work in a large dufffle bag with a towel as you suggest. I technically only bring one book to work and having it along with Echo somehow sitting on top of it and a towel to hold it all down might get people buzzing and might protect him as well. There is no way I could poke around for people at work while busy at the piano especially since I am sitting in one spot and am still quite unfamiliar to the building's layout, and why would I want to anyway? With my work situation my assistant is not far away and has little to do while I play; she could watch the bag. If she goes somewhere she could take him if she doesn't mind.

Charging it at home when I am away is a good alternative to daycare... a daycare key was used and given to me to plug the baby doll in and turn her off when I couldn't use her which only happened once or twice.

I'm nervous about Pleo's arrival and how it'll adapt and adjust to seeing me for the first while and interacting with me. I run a cold air conditioner, and as I said lighting is poor, but I think if I pet it and take it outside enough or inside enough according to its temperature and just watch its reactions it will be okay. The truth is, I thought about buying a neonate baby (toy version) or the real version of Baby Think it over, (Reality Works Company),  just to have with me. This was before seriously considering Pleo. So if pleo can do the job that's great!

I do plan to keep him turned off while at work, but what I think I'll do is take him in his makeshift carrier (bag or otherwise), turned off, maybe on my back or shoulders, and as people ask or don't ask, I'll either leave him be or take him out, maybe turn him on if I feel like it, or keep him off if he wants to sleep or I want him to. I know this is all up to me but I just feel better talking about it and writing it down.

Where can I get socks? I'd like to see how he reacts outside especially in the shade.

As I grow to know my Pleo and we grow together, I'll decide how and when to keep him at home and take him out and how to work with him... there's nothing like hands-on research too!

Echo is supposed to arrive sometime, I think, between the 22 and 26, but the waiting is hard!!!

[aibo7m3]

Hey guys! My little Chris is finally all grown up now! I was actually really surprised when I checked Probe RB and it said that he's been in the Mature Adult stage for three hours now! I'm also glad that Probe RB is now reporting that he's in good shape, even though it doesn't mean much.

[Piggy]

Great he is really doing well 

[Crewella]

Glad he's doing well, 'good shape' is always good news!