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Author Topic: Pleo Durability  (Read 3082 times)

aibo7m3

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Pleo Durability
« on: January 07, 2016, 01:04:18 PM »

I know this isn't the best thing to say on a Pleo forum, but please understand that I am saying this as a Pleo lover. Pleos, RBs especially, are not built for long term durability and this really breaks my heart. I have thirteen 10-16 year old Aibos and some have needed repairs at some point, others have not. Some have been treated carefully, others have not. None have ever become damaged beyond repair and they have held up amazingly for their age. I feel like this is not the same with Pleos.

I absolutely love Pleos, but the way they're built gives them about five years max before things start failing. Out of the five RBs I've purchased new within the past two years, three have developed serious defects within two weeks of arrival (disconnected wires in two and a unfixable firmware issue in another) and two have been returned. Every time I get a new Pleo RB, part of me is filled with joy and excitement and part of me is reminding myself not to get too attached due to the chances of something breaking. On average, in the first year of use, the paint on the neck seams of a Pleo RB begins to split and there is visible (but minor) paint wear on the Pleo's head. After 1.5-2 years of use, the grease from the motor boxes in the neck and tail begin to leak and form yellow stains (more visible in the pink/blue Pleos). I haven't owned any Pleos for over two years, but all of the 3+ year old ones I've seen or purchased used have fairly significant wear. Then when you consider the loose wires, cable snaps, vertebra breaks and complete firmware crashes that often happen along the way, Pleos have a short lifespan. I guess only time will tell how the Pleo RB holds up in the long run since the oldest RBs are five years old now, but what I've seen so far worries me a bit.

Maybe I just feel this way since I buy up cheap and broken Pleos to test repairs on and have more broken Pleos than working ones at the moment, but it still makes me sad. I am someone who takes my robots on lots of trips and runs volunteer programs with them, so sure, they may last a bit longer if they were run less frequently and only indoors, but that would be giving up the aspect of Pleo ownership that I enjoy most: sharing them with others. I am not bashing Pleo as a product because Pleo's have a charm that rivals that of Aibos, and I still heavily recommend them to others and buy more for myself. I just wish they would last a bit longer.

This is partially why I'm experimenting repairs on the cheap and broken Pleos I've purchased, because there needs to be a strong repair network for these robots to have a future, but I am worried about what will happen once Innvo discontinues them and there are no new parts or Pleos around.

(This post is largely only about Pleo RBs since I have owned only two Ugobes ever and don't know a huge amount about their durability overall. In comparison, I have owned a total of eight RBs- multiple bought broken as parts robots and multiple returned due to defects).
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Ezawyn

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Re: Pleo Durability
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2016, 04:52:06 AM »

I'm really sorry to read that. As you know, I'm a recent owner of a Pleo, and was hoping it would remain with me for a long time. But it's true that in this few days I've realized they're very delicated machines, and have several issues with it's gears, cables, skin... And seems like InnvoLabs is a bit "disconnected" about giving us support, aren't they?  ???
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HuggieZ

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Re: Pleo Durability
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2016, 02:35:11 PM »

I have 2 RB's and 2 Ugobes and my Ugobes are in much better shape than the RB's. One of my RB's (Pepper) can not move his neck and tail anymore. And I tread them carefully. I have returned 2 RB's which didn't start at all. They where not older than 2 years.
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