Andrew is back in town! And I found out that his dad bought an entire family of Pleo's - one for each member in the family. What is a pleo you ask?

A pleo is basically a smart pet. But not just any type of pet - it's a dinosaur! It's robotic and battery operated, but the technology to this dinosaur is so advanced, it's able to function autonomously. It will eat, sleep, cuddle and perform many other functions depending on what you try to teach it. Once a pleo is born, it cannot walk, and must wait for a period of time before it can begin to take it's first steps. The growth and development is dependent upon the amount of time you put into raising it - so it's not like it will age when you do not interact with it.

I think it's so cool that there's technology like this out there. Lazers and sensory integration systems help this little robot to move around, ensuring (for the most part) that it will keep itself safe (for example from falling off a ledge), and learn how to function with respect to the surrounding environment. I can't even begin to imagine being able to integrate this type of system into robots to facilitate care programs for individuals that cannot take care of themselves properly. It would be so cool if a robot were to take care of you!

These babies run for around $500 a piece. Would you consider buying one? Find out more information from the developers website, pleoworld.com As for me, I think I'm gonna just go over to Andrew's to play with pleo, haha. It's not as soft as I wish it would be!