WowWee – MiP: Tiny Robot with dance moves

This was introduced at CES 2014, which took place recently in Las Vegas, MiP is basically a very well balanced robot, a Bluetooth-controlled balancing two-wheeler with gesture sense technology and an app controlled environment. Like us humans, this robot from WowWee has been given a chirpy personality, offering endless fun, i.e. gameplay, dancing, balancing acts, etc. Developed at the University of California, MiP can be easily controlled using your Android or iOS device with the help of an application available on these platforms. In addition, you can control this robot using hand and object movements.

In the box there’s an attachable tray, which allows MiP to carry objects around while still balancing upright, and it can even support the weight of another MiP. If you’ve got a group then they can be linked into a coordinated dance mode, keeping in time with each other like small, glowing line-dancers.
If you’re feeling competitive and have more than one MiP in the room you can enter battle mode to box each other, using the app, until one loses its balance.

MiP, which stands for Mobile Inverted Pendulum is actually the product of a collaboration between WowWee and the Coordinated Robotics Lab at the University of California, San Diego. The result of that partnership is a few nifty innovations that, technology-wise, lift the little robot above other recent robot entries like RoboMe (also from WowWee) and Zoomer the robotic dog.

The black and white body, round head and emoticon eyes is quite different. It stands roughly 7-inches tall and has no feet. The base instead features two large wheels. The torso includes a mode light and two pose-able arms. This robot has useless appendages and arms simply serve no purpose. You can’t even pose them to hold MiPs tray — MiP has a slot on its chest for that.

wowweemip

First of all MiP can, without human intervention, balance and move quite effectively on those two wheels. Give MiP a push and it will right itself. The two-wheel locomotion makes MiP highly maneuverable. It’s also incredibly easy to connect MiP to your mobile phone via the free app.

When connected to your smartphone, MiP’s chest glows green. The app doesn’t look like much, but once connected to MiP, it gives you impressive control over the robot. Using two thumb-driven virtual joysticks, one to control direction and the other speed (as well as whether it’s traveling forward or backward), Then you will be able to maneuver MiP around obstacles with ease — it can responded smoothly to the slightest thumb movement.

wowweemip-balance

MiP is not the best toy robot, but it may have the most potential. If WowWee continues working with the researchers and adding features to this app, we may soon discover that MiP has a whole new set of capabilities. Is the battery-powered robot worth $99.99? It’s a bit more expensive than Zoomer, but the technology inside may be more sophisticated. Plus, you get that app. On the other hand, MiP does need work. Its autonomous modes are confusing and somewhat disappointing. It can only stack if you drive and those arms are an embarrassment.

Final Conclusion

Pros:

  • The self-balancing technology is impressive.
  • The remote-control app is spare, yet easy to use and makes driving MiP a breeze.
  • It really can balance and carry a load.
  • Epic synchronized dance.

Cons:

  • Modes are not engaging.
  • Arms are useless.
  • Needs more polishing.

XBOX ONE vs. PS4: Who won the battle?

Ps4-vs-xbox-one-cover

The great debate of our time, it could be a destroyer of friendships or a sponsor of new. This is what makes boys out of men. It doesn’t get any better than this, does it? Loyal fans will have already made their choice, while open-minded gamers might very well pick up both systems. But no matter your preference, there’s nothing quite as stimulating as a (hopefully civil) argument over who to claim as the victor.

Hardware

Based on AMD Jaguar APUs, there’s a very thin dividing line between the graphical quality of games. However, there’s no doubt that on paper the PS4 has a slightly better GPU than the Xbox One’s. PS4 also provides removable hard drive which should be at least 160GB.

ps4-hardware

RAM:

  • XBOX: 8GB GDDR3
  • PS: 8GB GDDR5

CPU:

  • XBOX: 8 Core Microsoft custom CPU
  • PS4: Single-chip x86 AMD “Jaguar” processor, 8 cores

Peak GPU Shader Throughput:

  • XBOX: 1.31 TeraFLOPS/s
  • PS: 1.84 TeraFLOPS/s

Controllers

PlayStation fans like their parallel analog sticks just the way it is; while the Xbox controller’s diagonally distant analog sticks work as well, if not better. Both the Xbox One controller and the DualShock 4 are incredibly comfortable, treating you right even after marathon gaming sessions.

controller-comparison

 

The Xbox One’s impulse triggers and PS4’s touchpad both leave a lot of room for interesting growth, whenever developers decide how they want to incorporate them into their games. When it comes to either system’s input devices, there’s very little to complain about.

  • XBOX: Xbox One Wireless Controller(included) [Batteries: Rechargeable (built-in)]
  • PS4: DualShock 4 (included) [Batteries: AA (2). Rechargeable battery packs (sold separately)]

Motion Controllers

Nothing to debate here. Microsoft’s Kinect wipes the floor with PlayStation’s Move controllers. When Microsoft released Kinect, it ended up surprising itself and selling over 8 million units in the first 60 days of its release. It still holds the Guinness Book record for the fastest selling consumer electronics device.

Exclusive game titles

Halo-Xbox-One-Reveal

It’s still early days in the lives of these spiffy new “next-gen” consoles, but the Xbox One has clearly stolen a march on the PS4, in terms of exclusive game titles on offer for their respective fans and what’s due to come in the next few months. While Sony’s failed to announce any new exclusive game for the PS4, Xbox One fans are eagerly awaiting Titanfall – an exclusive that’s giving gamers all over a wet dream. Some exclusive titles:

  • XBOX: Dead Rising 3, FORZA motorsport 5, Titanfall, Halo 5
  • PS4: Killzone: Shadowfall, Infamous: Second Son, Uncharted 4

Backward compatibility

Due to the 7-8 year long wait before Sony and Microsoft decided to refresh their respective consoles, gamers on either side of the chasm are facing the prospect of having their beloved gamer’s collection being reduced to nothing but dead plastic. Totally outrageous, of course! But try selling that to Xbox fans – which is what Microsoft did, in a way by declearing that the Xbox One won’t be compatible with X360 games, despite promises of a cloud feature to enable the same.

Neither Xbox One nor PS4 will play previous generation games. That means you’ll need to keep your Xbox 360 and PS3 in order to replay Halo 4 and Uncharted 3. Same with Sony and the PS4, a Real bummer!

Remote play And Sharing

This is one feature that both Xbox One and PS4 deploy, but where SmartGlass only works as a companion app- similar to PlayStation’s app for smartphones and tablets – the PS4 has the added bonus of beaming a live game onto a PS Vita. This is a cool differentiator.

The fact that you can easily stream your gameplay from a PS4 gives it the edge, letting you share your experiences with the world in real-time. The Xbox One’s sharing functionality in the Upload Studio is impressive, with the ability to add voice-over to your videos and easily access them from a computer. But when it comes to showing off your gaming accomplishments to your friends, the PS4 comes out on top.

Online network

Purely concentrating on gaming content the Xbox Live online service had an early advantage over Sony’s PSN. But Sony’s ramped up PSN with PlayStation Plus subscription with a ton of games on offer – for free. PSN offers game trials, automatic demo downloads, including exclusive downloadable content, store discounts and early access to PSN games.

Indie games

Sony got out in front by supporting independent game developers, attracting names like Supergiant Games, Red Barrels Studio, and Young Horses at the time of its E3 press conference.

destiny-indie-game

At first, Microsoft maintained that Xbox One games would require be fronted by a publisher. That changed recently when the company is announcing that not only would it allow self-publishing but also every console acts as a development kit.A free dev kit sounds appealing, especially when PS4 developer kits cost thousands of dollars.

Sony has the indie developer crowd right now, but such pricey technology for tomorrow’s basement-run teams could decrease the company’s indie following over time.

 Connectivity

  • XBOX: WIfi – Direct, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 & 5Ghz)
  • PS: Bluetooth 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi

Power Supply

  • XBOX: External (power brick)
  • PS: Internal

VERDICT:

The new PS4 is our pick; it is slightly better centered around gamers than the Xbox One. But then again Microsoft console you get the potential of more than just games console, but an entertainment hub. The ultimate choice, as always, is yours.

Sony-PS4-Official

Top reasons to pick a PS4

  • It’s much smaller than an Xbox One
  • It doesn’t have a separate power brick
  • It already has iPlayer
  • It’s a bit cheaper
  • The PS4 is more powerful
  • Remote Play for Vita is awesome
  • PS Plus’s free games plan is great
  • The PS4 controller is better