i-Cybie is a robotic pet that resembles a dog. It was manufactured by Silverlit Electronics. The i-Cybie robot responds to sound, touch, voice commands via remote control. Although i-Cybie does possess a limited amount of artificial intelligence, programming is not easily modifiable by the end-user, and it is not capable of autonomous learning. The i-Cybie was one of the first robot pets on the market that could power itself via its Walk-Up-Charger.
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Interestingly, I-cybie has surprisingly good directional hearing: In one mode, I-cybie will "startle" at a normal to loud sudden sound (a clap or sharp, quick sound) then walk in the direction the sound came from. This is a pretty advanced trick for a "toy" robot, especially one manufactured beginning in 1999-2000.
The i-Cybie can be trained to respond to voice. To activate voice control and issue a command one must put I-cybie in "Listening" mode, then speak the command. I-cybie's eyes will glow and flash indicating that he is: in listening mode, that he is waiting for a command, then whether he has understood what was spoken or not. If he recognizes the word, he will then perform the action. There are 8 different voice commands. One can choose what word or phrase i-Cybie will respond to for each trick. The voice control interface is speaker dependent so i-Cybie will only respond to your voice alone, not the voices of others.
Clap commands are executed as a series of claps and pauses. For example, the Stay command is activated by clapping once, pausing, and clapping three more times. The sit down command is clap twice and pause and then clap again.
The i-Cybie has five distinct simulated moods:
Each one of these moods is expressed with a distinct body position and eye pattern in response to external stimulus.
Silverlit Electronics had a Downloader kit that let you add an expansion cartridge to change i-cybie's mood & even sounds. Unfortunately,the Downloader accessory and the required cartridge are now exceedingly rare. The official Silverlit software for the Downloader is still available, however, at http://www.silverlit.com/downloadprogram.htm
Additionally, the newer versions of I-cybie came with a walk-up charger that let I-cybie charge his own batteries. The charger came with a cartridge that modified the firmware of the robot to take advantage of the charger unit. The cartridge could be used on older I-cybies to update their firmware so that they too could use the walk-up charger.
It is possible to hack the I-cybie as well (see "Super I-cybie" below), but it requires the removal and modification of the robot's outer shell and soldering of new electronics onto the original electronics board. The hack is not trivial and it is very possible to ruin the dog if done incorrectly. Additional information can be found at http://www.aibohack.com/icybie/index.html
The i-Cybie was created by a Hong Kong company Silverlit Electronics and released to toy fairs in 2000. It was originally marketed and distributed by Tiger Electronics in 2001 but due to world market problems at the time of release & a battery problem the robot did not do well. Tiger was later acquired by Hasbro Toys. The product was relaunched in 2005 by Silverlit Electronics and was distributed by Outrageous. X-Cybie, a fur version, was said to be launched in 2006, however about then, all i-Cybies were discontinued. i-Cybie is now classed as discontinued; there will not be any future upgrades or accessories.
When Tiger Electronics got the marketing and distributing rights they agreed with Silverlit Electronics to change the robot's features & overall look as i-Cybie looked more like SonyAibo. The i-Cybie firmware was designed by Micom tech HK on behalf of Tiger. Recent research by i-Cybie Fans has determined that Hasbro owns the firmware rights, having acquired Tiger.
Batteries
Tiger Electronics placed a small sticker on the i-Cybie quick start card that told the user the first charge of i-Cybie's Battery is 10 hours. This damaged many batteries, making the running time of the robot less than one hour in some cases. The normal charging time is three hours. Silverlit Electronics released a new long lasting battery in 2004 & in 2005/6 and also released the "Smart Timer"- a small black device designed to stop the user from overcharging the battery.
A company called "Strikealite" in the U.K. currently offers new batteries and a smart-charger for the I-cybie: one rated at 2100mAh and another at 1200mAh. One can buy their products on E-Bay or from the Strikealite webpage. Be sure to buy a charger for the battery that is compatible with your home country's electrical wall outlet system. Also, the wire connector on the I-cybie unit is an uncommon form, so if one intends to use their own charger, they should be aware that they may have a hard time finding an appropriate connector to interface with the battery.
Mechanical
Legs
i-Cybie users have reported problems with the robot's legs, some coming loose & no longer working. At present the only known way to fix this problem is by replacing the leg, which only requires the user to open the robot, unplug the leg & replace it with a new one.
Head
It has been reported that the encoder on the motor for the left/ right turning of the head can become mis-aligned. This results in the motor attempting to turn the head too far in one direction or the other. Fortunately, all the motors in the I-cybie have a clutch system that protects from over-torquing and damaging the mechanics. Therefore, while the clicking sound of the head trying to move can be alarming or irritating, the unit is not actually being damaged. That said, since the I-cybie's internal electronics will not know the "real" status of how the head is positioned, some of I-cybie's built-in tricks will likely fail; standing on his head, etc. It is conceivable that one could open the I-cybie unit and physically re-align the encoder to the proper position, but the actual implementation of that fix is beyond the scope of this article.
The Super i-Cybie "i-Cybie Hack" project is a hardware hack that adds a computer port onto the robot's computer system. Several experienced i-Cybie owners with programming skills have banded together to try to drastically enhance the i-Cybie's capabilities.
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