Astromech did a great job with this robot. You almost feel like a Star Wars cast member hanging out with it. From it’s voice control to it’s amazing autonomy abilities, this is one of the better robotic offerings out there for the Everyman who wants a robot like they see in the movies.
Granted, it’s overall abilities are limited to a great degree, especially when compared to a programmable robot. But for simplicity of use and flawless execution, it’s right up there with the very best of them.
This was another robot I got from eBay. But unlike the majority of trash I’ve managed to waste money on from the auction site, this came from an eBay store, not an auction, and distinguishes itself as an eBay sourced product that works. I paid $130 for R2D2. No doubt I probably could have gotten it for less shopping almost anywhere else it’s sold; I don’t know because I haven’t looked. I’m totally satisfied with this little guy and glad I bought him.
Astromech's Interactive R2D2
My favorite thing to do is to turn him on, release his wheel locks, and speak the words, “Hey, R2. Go on patrol.” He drops into autonomous mode as reliably as the sun rises and sets out to probe the room. My Roomba vacuum cleaner is pretty good about not getting itself trapped in corners, but occasionally it does. I have yet to see R2 do that and I have operated him for more total hours than I ever did the Roomba. He will occasionally encounter an obstacle too low or too high for his sensors and get into a bit of trouble, but it’s pretty uncommon for him to do so. My room is a veritable hell of robot traps for autonomous roamers and R2 has definitely shone brightly as the best at navigating.
He has a few other functions like Guard Mode and Play Message. He also recognizes certain names from the characters of the Star Wars saga. He communicates with whistles, whirs and buzzes, exactly as you would see him on screen. In guard mode he will sit quietly until his sensors detect movement typical to a person or pet and then will awaken with a lot of squawks, whistles and lights to raise the alarm. He almost coos when you mention Princess Leia, gets all excited at the mention of Luke Skywalker, and shudders shakes and complains when you mention Darth Vader.
The designers and manufacturers of this robot were anything but asleep at the switch. That can’t be said of a lot of the available robots out there. They were even wise enough to put wheel locks on him so you can place him on a table to interact with or have guard you, and he will not accidentally roll himself off to destruction. If you try to command him to move with the locks in place, he will shake his head in a ‘no’ fashion and tell you off. With a press of a button though, he will take off if you ask him to. Rugs have never proved a to be a problem for R2, he sails happily over shag rugs as well as he does linoleum.
R2D2 is about 16 inches tall and great attention was given to his detail. He even has a little hand that you can pop out of a door in his front side, or install his camera periscope shaft. The camera isn’t real and doesn’t do anything but sit there, so I keep mine in the storage compartment he has opposite the one his arm is in.
After watching so many robots tip over trying to move or getting themselves into places they couldn’t get out of, R2 was a breath of fresh air. It’s also a favorite of folks who visit me, probably because of their familiarity to R2 and that he will respond to their commands as readily as he will mine.