Electric fuzzy robot for Kid Power - Well, enough of this dabbling with cars and large roller skates. It was time to
do something of significance. But then along came this cute little fuzzy robot idea, and I just had to do it.
I had been working with Kid Power, developing the riding toy you see in the picture. It was marketed as the
"Sit Skake" at first, and then later on, marketed as the "Roller Racer". The owner of Kid Power wanted an angle
on demonstrating the Roller Racer at trade shows.
He came up with the idea of having a remote controlled fuzzy creature that could ride around on the Roller Racer,
talking with potential buyers and their kids.
The creature needed to be able to rock the handlebars back and forth to move forward, turn its head, relay what was
said to it back to the operator, and allow the operator to speak through the robot. In addition, I had the mouth move
in sync with the voice that came out of it.
There were geared electric motors in each rear wheel, a cluster of all electronics and batteries in the chest
area, and a motorized head and jaw made from a plastic storage container.
All worked well, and although the fuzzy creature probably didn't ensure any sales deals, it was the hit of
every show with the kids.
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