B.I.O. Bug

The Hasbro/Wowwee B.I.O.-BUGS (Bio-mechanical Integrated Organisms) are a series of battery-powered autonomous/remote controlled robot bugs based heavily on the designs of Mark Tilden, and his concept of BEAM robotics. They are substantial beasts, measuring 25 cm x 29 cm (9.8 in x 11.4 in) excluding sensors and weighing 492 g (1.08 lb) in the case of the XP.01-B.I.O. Predator bug. They were originally announced on February 12, 2001 and released on October 24, 2001.

The basic capabilities of these 2 motor walkers is considerable: they can traverse surfaces as deep as shag carpeting (on full batteries) with little problem,. They can perform a fairly sharp turn, within 1.5x their body length.
They broadcast and receive infrared data via anterior and posterior sensors, and can recognize friend, foe, and IR controller input. An additional transmitter is located on the rear of the robot, leaving a blind spot only when the remote is aimed at the midriff from an angle of about 110 degrees from the angle of travel.

The robots interact with each other based on their genotype. There are four species of bugs...the red XP.01-B.I.O. Predator, the blue XS.02-B.I.O. Stomper, the green XD.03-B.I.O. Destroyer and the yellow XA.04-B.I.O. Acceleraider. Each type has its own personality, and will base their reactions to other B.I.O.-BUGS on whether they are of like or different types. Members of the same species will usually react in a friendly manner, while different species will often engage in "fighting" behavior.

The B.I.O.-BUGS mature in 12 stages or skill levels. Upon activation, or after being reset, the bugs begin life as a baby, but quickly mature to level two. Additional levels are gained by manually training the bugs, or by fighting other bugs.

A February, 2002 article in the New York Times stated that sales, although brisk, were somewhat disappointing to Hasbro, which had been expecting a smash hit product. By this time plans for an enhanced and expanded line-up of B.I.O.-BUGS were shelved by Hasbro. In 2004, WowWee introduced RoboSapien, and all reference to B.I.O.-BUGS was removed from their website.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu