i-Cybie (爱赛比) is a

robotic Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...

that resembles a dog. It was manufactured by Silverlit Toys Manufactory Ltd Hong Kong from 2000 to 2006. i-Cybie was developed for commercial distribution by

Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) is an American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld electronic games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as '' Brain Warp'' and the ...

. Outrageous International Hong Kong distributed the electronic pet from 2005 to 2006. The i-Cybie robotic dog responds to sound, touch, movement, and voice commands. The toy robot can autonomously recharge its batteries using a special docking station. I-Cybie was the first mass-produced toy that used advanced

voice recognition Voice recognition can refer to: * speaker recognition, determining ''who'' is speaking * speech recognition Speech recognition is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science and computational linguistics that develops methodologies and te ...

technology.

Features

i-Cybie has 16 built-in motors which allow 16 degrees of freedom. There are three

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of a computer program, such as arithmetic, log ...

’s—the main

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

TMP91C815F for motion control and for mood calculation, a SunPlus Technology

used for audio playback, and an RSC 364 used for voice recognition and recording. i-Cybie is constructed using 1400 parts, and more than 90 feet of wire. The robot uses a suite of sensors to determine mood and behavior. *Dimensions **Height: **Width: **Length: **Weight: about *Light Sensor (nose)— for motion detection in "guard" mode. *Infrared Obstacle Detector (chest array)—for collision avoidance and edge detection. The chest array is also used to communicate with other toys (robo-chi, i-Cybie) and for receiving remote commands. *Touch Sensors (back button, head button, nose button)— influence the i-Cybie's moods and behavior. *Microphones (4)—three microphones are used to hear sharp sounds and one is used to discriminate voice. The robot can localize the direction of a sharp sound and move towards it. I-Cybies can recognize spoken commands and respond in a specific manner. Voice recognition features

biometric authentication Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used t ...

. Voice recognition is activated by the head contact sensor or by the remote control unit. *Orientation Sensor—the robot can detect whether it has fallen over. The orientation sensor also contributes to the robot's mood. *Encoders (12)- three per leg, position legs. *Dynamic Drive feedback-it can sense when its limbs are jammed and take action to free itself. *Light Sensor (back)— for use in mood and behavior calculations. The light sensor can also detect petting and can initiate behavior.

Basic Functions

i-Cybies can be programmed to respond to the voice commands of a specific user. Voice control is a form of

speech recognition Speech recognition is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science and computational linguistics that develops methodologies and technologies that enable the recognition and translation of spoken language into text by computers. It is also ...

that is "speaker dependent". The RSC 300/364 microcontroller can process commands in any spoken language and features

biometric Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used t ...

authentication. There are 8 voice commands listed in the manual allowing the user to initiate 8 different behavior categories. In addition to voice, i-Cybies can hear sharp sounds and localize the general direction of the source. It can also count the number of hand claps given in clap command mode (play mode) and respond with the same number of barks. i-Cybie can also detected when it has fallen over and automatically stand back up. It has the ability to detect when it is in a confined space or if it has become snagged against an obstacle. i-Cybie can "see" movement when in guard mode (

motion detection In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an obser ...

) using a light sensor in its nose and it can also detect ambient light levels and movement using a light sensor in its back. i-Cybie uses several gaits for walking and among its numerous actions it can sit, roll on its side, and stand on its head. Other features include

edge detection Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed b ...

(a special mode) and

collision avoidance In transportation, collision avoidance is the maintenance of systems and practices designed to prevent vehicles (such as aircraft, motor vehicles, ships, cranes and trains) from colliding with each other. They perceive the environment with sensors ...

. i-Cybie can detect its battery charge and will shut down when battery power is low or if equipped with a Walk Up Charger and programmable cartridge it will automatically seek out its charger and recharge itself. i-Cybie uses five states or "moods" to determine autonomous behavior: happy, sad, sleepy, sick, and hyper. Moods are calculated based upon the cumulative count of interactions derived from the sensors. Users can tell the current mood/state by eye color, posture and type of behavior (i.e. yawning when sleepy or peeing when sick). I-Cybie is advertised as developing or evolving according to the environment and user treatment. i-Cybie accepts signals from an

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

remote control A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...

unit (RCU) and was designed to “communicate” with Silverlit's robo-chi toys by transmitting and receiving IR signals using its chest array. There are several modes that are specific to the remote including play, stay, and guard mode. The remote is also used for "training" the robotic toy's voice recognition feature and for setting the pause mode.

Cartridge

I-Cybies were originally sold with a "dummy" cartridge inserted in a programming port on the robot's right side. A fully programmable cartridge was included with the Silverlit Downloader and Walk Up Charger accessories which were sold separately (they were later bundled with the robot). The cartridge adds specific actions for navigation to the Walk Up Charger and a special charger approach routine. It can also be programmed with the Silverlit Downloader accessory to expand the robot's autonomous behavior with actions that are not part of i-Cybie's standard suite. With a programmable cartridge inserted i-Cybie can sense its battery charge and if it is low, the robot will autonomously locate its charger and dock. After charging the i-Cybie will back away from the charger and resume autonomous operation.

programmable cartridges were populated with two 1 Mbit SST39vf010 chips with a total capacity of 256KB of flash

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

. The cartridge stores extra motion data and can be used to store additional audio files. (Late cartridges are populated with a single 2 Mbit SST39vf200 chip which will not program successfully in a standard Super iCybie). Late single chip carts can now be programmed by an updated SIC. A new CROMINST is available in the downloads of www.icybie.net16.net, which can be used to create a SIC which can program single chip carts, but the SIC MUST be an older style, dual-chip dog, as making a SIC from a single chip dog is as yet untested. In addition, a new walkup cart firmware was identified, indicating the newer single chip dogs may have a different firmware to the older i-cybie.

Custom personalities

Although i-Cybies were designed to be programmed to individual tastes, Silverlit and

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

(

' parent company) provided little support for development of this feature beyond the release of the Downloader and associated Downloader software. Faced with this deficit, users developed their own tools for modifying the robot's behavior. A group of dedicated modders and

hackers A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bugs or exploits to break ...

provided unofficial support for i-Cybie during its early years on the market. The result was that a number of software and hardware tools were created to allow users to manipulate i-Cybie's behavior. YICT (Yanni Idolizes iCybie Tweeking) is a program based on the reverse-engineering efforts of a robot enthusiast known as "Aibopet" and is one of the user-developed tools designed to program a cartridge using either a Silverlit Downloader or a Super-i-Cybie. An exploration of the functions allowed in YICT has revealed details about i-Cybie's programming logic and action categories that are not part of the general documentation. YICT also allows users to add more actions to each mood and change the overall behavior. The YICT version 2.02 software contains a number of personalities for users to build upon (example: the Z/2 personality) and is a major source for early

user group A users' group (also user's group or user group) is a type of Club (organization), club focused on the use of a particular technology, usually (but not always) computer-related. Overview Users' groups started in the early days of Mainframe compu ...

developed personalities.

Super-I-Cybie

It is possible to hack

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

/ Silverlit model i-Cybies and make them capable of writing directly to a programmable cartridge without the use of the downloader. This modified i-Cybie is called a "Super" i-Cybie (SIC) by its creator Aibopet. In general, the hack involves soldering a communications port to traces near the main

and installing a boot loader (CROMINST) that has been pre-loaded on a programmable cartridge. The one time process makes it possible for the robot to be programmed with a new personality and to serve as a programmer (downloader) for other i-Cybies. Users have noted that the Outrageous International i-Cybie cannot be hacked in this manner. A Super i-Cybie can also be completely reprogrammed in C language "from the ground up" with a user developed software development kit (ICSDK) to create new firmware.

Firmware and hardware

The i-Cybie firmware was designed by Micom tech HK on behalf of Tiger. Research by i-Cybie Fans has determined that

owns the firmware rights, having acquired Tiger. There appear to be three models of i-Cybie; 88011 (Tiger/Silverlit), 88012 (Silverlit) and 88013 (Outrageous/Silverlit). Each model displays minor differences in component arrangement and structural detail and there are several circuit board versions for each model. It is not generally known whether there is a noticeable difference in firmware between models based on these differences.

History

The

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

based Toy Company Silverlit built the prototype i-Cybie and presented it at the 1999

American International Toy Fair The North American International Toy Fair (formerly the American International Toy Fair and also known as Toy Fair New York) is an annual toy industry trade show held in mid-February in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and at to ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The early prototypes looked very similar to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

’s ERS-110 in appearance but were meant to compete at a significantly lower consumer price.

acquired the rights to distribute i-Cybie in 2000 and spent more than 2 million dollars to further develop the robot. Tiger subsequently redesigned the prototype i-Cybie to make it look more like a dog and less like the

AIBO AIBO (stylized as aibo, abbreviated as Artificial Intelligence RoBOt, homonymous with , "pal" or "partner" in Japanese) is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony. Sony announced a prototype Aibo in mid-1998, and the first co ...

ERS 110. A team of programmers led by Andy Filo reprogrammed i-Cybie to walk, interact, and to exhibit lifelike characteristics. The electronic pet was first released in January 2001. Originally i-Cybies were sold with a plug-in charger, a remote, a rechargeable 12 volt nickel metal cadmium battery and a “dummy” cartridge. In 2002 the Walk Up Charger and the Downloader, each sold with a programmable cartridge, were released as accessories. Daniel Kehoe optested the pilot voice recognition software prior to that year’s holiday season, and approved for mass distribution. The robotic toy was offered in two colors; metallic blue and metallic gold. In 2002 new shell options were offered including black, white, and transparent. The price point for i-Cybie was set at US$200, significantly less than the price for its chief robotic competitor at the time, the

ERS 111, then priced at more than US$1500. The i-Cybie robotic pet was set to be on the shelves in December 2000 in time for the seasonal increase in

consumer spending Consumer spending is the total money spent on final goods and services by individuals and households. There are two components of consumer spending: induced consumption (which is affected by the level of income) and autonomous consumption (which ...

. However, difficulties in development caused

to postpone the initial release to early 2001. Soon after its debut consumers reported that an "error" in the original quick start manual instructed owners to charge the batteries ten hours. The time was not consistent with the recommended charge time for the charger (300ma) and the battery (800mah) released with the robot. The reported error allegedly resulted in some batteries being overcharged by users and rendered useless. Negative customer reviews may have effected some sales. Silverlit appears to have addressed this issue with the release of a "smart" battery charger accessory by 2002 and a higher capacity nickel metal hydride battery. Tiger Electronics discontinued support for i-Cybie soon after its release due to poor sales. Silverlit continued to support the robot and released new shell options, a Walk-Up Charger and Downloader as promised upgrades. In 2004, a small California-based online store named Buy-Cybie.com (also later under the name Buy-Robot) distributed newly-manufactured i-Cybie dogs with minor improvements; namely including the Z-Cybie personality cartridge. i-Cybie dogs from this production run are nearly identical, the only notable differences being the lack of Tiger or Hasbro logos on the shipping box (replaced with only Silverlit logos) and a manual that no longer informs the user to charge the battery for 10 hours. Outrageous International Hong Kong relaunched i-Cybie in 2005 with the promise of improved features and a rumor circulated among i-Cybie fan sites of a new furry "x-Cybie" shell option for 2006. Although some Outrageous i-Cybies were made, only a few were released with fur (flock) covering. In 2006 the product was listed as discontinued in Western markets but some Chinese websites still list new i-Cybie's available for sale in China. As of Spring 2014, Silverlit still offered support for the robot and carried the Walk Up Charger, Downloader and other accessories for i-Cybie at their international 3deshop website. Throughout its production run i-Cybies were compared to

Aibo AIBO (stylized as aibo, abbreviated as Artificial Intelligence RoBOt, homonymous with , "pal" or "partner" in Japanese) is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony. Sony announced a prototype Aibo in mid-1998, and the first co ...

entertainment robots. Although both devices share many features, in general

s are more mechanically complex and they have a more powerful and versatile CPU. The

series also use a vision system that is capable of tracking color and they possess a comparatively large suite of behavior that takes advantage of their vision abilities. Beyond its infrared collision avoidance, the i-Cybie does not have a vision system and its behavioral suite is comparatively limited. However, the i-Cybie pioneered features found in later robotic pets such as speech recognition and autonomous recharging. Soon after i-Cybie's release a small

community developed with the intent of enhancing i-Cybie's features. Although some success was made in creating tools to manipulate the toy robot's software, lack of official support and development led the community to eventually disband.

Education

Because of the low cost versus technological capabilities, i-Cybies have been used by universities to teach programming and robotics. Notable examples include the work of France Cadet, an artist and Associate Professor & Chair (Art & Technology department) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Known for her robotic and bio-oriented multi-media installations, Cadet has featured i-Cybies in many of her art exhibits worldwide. Natalie Jeremijenko's Feral Dogs Project teaches students ecology at the University of California San Diego using i-Cybies modified with pollution sensors to seek out chemicals. Recently (prior to 2010) inventor Andy Filo was interviewed and commented " -Cybieis still probably one of the most complex toys that was ever sold on the toy isle".Archived a
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References

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