Hasbro
	Height	15.675"
	Diameter	6.25"
	Overall Width	10.25"
	Weight	6.5 lbs.
	4 "D" cell + 4 "AA" cell batteries
	On-board Speech recognition software; realistic R2-D2 audibles; Infra-red location sensing; Sonar navigation system; cargo hold, Utility arm/beverage holder; self-propelled with indoor terrain tread; wheel lock; illuminating light beam; mood indicator; master power switch
	Price	Status
	$99.99	In Stock 1
	$97.69	OUT OF STOCK
	$99.99	In Stock 2
	$69.00	CLEARANCE!!
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1. Sears.com shows item must be ordered by phone.
2. Shows item usually shipping within 24 hrs.
3. Walmart.com shows item usually shipping within 2- 3 business days.

10/15/2002 By Sebulbadoug

Hasbro's new Interactive R2-D2

The interactive R2-D2 by Industrial Automation and distributed by Hasbro here on Earth has finally arrived. Artoodetoo.com has obtained one and put him through his paces. We found that he does a great job of bringing his namesake to "life" and in general is lot of fun to play with.

I noticed that most stores had only one on the shelf during the initial release. A recent check of the local stores found none on the shelves anywhere. The R2-D2 I obtained came from Wal-Mart's online store. I had pre-ordered it as soon as the option was available, and it still took two weeks to get it after they were released. I was told by Wal-Mart.com that shipments from the manufacturer had been delayed. (This was before the West coast dockworkers strike.)

If you haven't seen it yet, Hasbro has a pretty cool site about him that has a video of him in action, although it really doesn't show all that he can do. Hasbro commissioned Creature Labs, Ltd. to design some of the onboard software and systems in this particular R2-D2, and used Voice Signal Technologies, Inc. for the speech interface software.

There have been a quite few articles on the internet about him, and here's what just about all of them have to say:

R2-D2 and is packed with all the spunk and charm that made the droid famous. This responsive droid answers to your call and obeys your commands. Equipped with innovative speech recognition technology, infrared scanning technology and working sonar navigation, this R2-D2 recognizes 40 spoken phrases, plays six exciting games, and sings three tunes. It even has a retractable arm that lets it hold a 12-ounce beverage!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Looks suspiciously like press release copy. I thought I'd share what I found out about the one I have. I think there are probably a lot of people out there waiting to get one, and would like to know more about it before they do. Hopefully, this will help. Gotta make those Christmas plans.

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R2's Operation Manual

He comes not quite fully assembled, but putting him together is a pretty easy task, even for those with little or no mechanical inclination. Assembly is a simple matter of snapping his legs on and putting the batteries in (4 "D" size and 4 "AA" size). This is probably a good thing, since it means guys like Sebulbasteve won't have to get out any tools other than a #1 or #2 phillips head screwdriver to remove and replace the battery cover.

Unfortunately, R2-D2 isn't able to help with his own assembly, but there is an operation manual included with him just in case some part of the assembly doesn't make sense. A reasonably intelligent 8 year old should be able to complete the assembly without much trouble at all. Just make sure the legs are aligned properly before you push them in place.

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A lot of the sites I looked at put his height at 18". I found that he stands just over 15 1/2". I noticed an interesting proportional increase in size among the different R2's put out by Hasbro as I was setting them up for pictures. I've included a shot of the Interactive R2-D2 along with one of the 12" (6") R2's, and the "Escape From Naboo" R2.

Side by side comparison

Interactive R2-D2, 6" R2-D2,

And 3.5" Action Figure R2-D2

Once in place, his legs can't be moved, meaning that he is permanently consigned to one stance: the tilted 3-leg position. Its not really a big deal, since most photos of R2 are in this pose, and while the original could move in the upright position, he didn't do it very often.

Overall, the form, fit and finish of this R2-D2 is very good. I'll identify the things I've noticed, both good and not-so-good. To start, he actually has a left and right leg, instead of the traditional same leg used on both sides and to heck with authenticity. I think that's a first for Hasbro. There are a few details that could have been a little better on the legs, like the hardware under the shoulder overhangs on the front and back of each leg. It doesn't seem like it would have taken much more work to add a little more realistic detail there, especially since what is there is so close. But hey, I'm not a mold maker, so what do I know. The color of the hardware in that area should have been silver instead of white. The lines on the front of the his feet seem to be the right color, and they are plugged in properly as well.

The hardware detail on the side of the arms is good, too. Again, there is room for improvement. The small round nuts to the rear of each arm could have used a little more detail. The actual R2-D2 has retaining rings that are pretty visible on each of the two nuts in that region. I know that wouldn't have been to hard to model the retaining rings, especially on a figure of this scale. The small hydraulic piston on the leading part of the shoulder looks about right, but the relieve around it could have been a little deeper. Additionally, R2-D2 has laminations in the wall of the recess around the shoulder bolt that didn't show up on this model. The other thing I noticed about the legs of the R2 unit that I have is that there is some mild over spray of the silver for the center hydraulic on the blue part of the leg.

The dome is finished in an even silver matte that looks very good. I know that some people have built full scale models of R2 and have given him a polished dome. But I think the satin, or matte finish is closer to the real thing. The panels seem to be close to the right color blue. The panels are given added definition with a small groove that outlines each one. The real R2-D2 also has grooves around each panel, but the ones on this model aren't to scale: they are somewhat deeper proportionally than they should be. Even though they are out of scale, they achieve the look of the real thing, and I believe that's why they are so deep - any less and they wouldn't have created the proper effect.

This R2 unit is equipped with infra-red and sonar technology as well as speech recognition. What all that means is that technically he's really very sophisticated. It also means that some liberties had to be taken to accommodate the technology. The result is that there are a few additional holes, vents and grilles that aren't on the original. But they have been added in a way that minimizes the impact they have on the overall aesthetic, and it doesn't take very long for you to get used to them.

The detail of the primary photo/radar eye (the big black one on the front of the dome) is great. The blue case around the eye contains the sonar transmitter/receiver, so there are two additional holes, but they don't detract from the overall look. Likewise the blue panel for the processor state indicator also contains a penetration for the infra-red sensors. As with the sonar, it really doesn't diminish the look of R2. There are some mild mold seam lines visible in this area, and there is some minor silver over spray on to the blue band on the dome just below the front projector eye. It isn't noticeable though unless you are very close to the unit.

His 'Logic function displays" are pretty good. The displays are made from what appears to be silver mylar tape that has been laser etched in a pattern that, when light reflects at the right angle, gives the impression that you are looking at a bunch of little LED's all blinking on and off. Overall its a very good effect, although the unit I have seems to have a problem with the tape curling a little. The pieces may be a little too large for the area they have to fit in. Or it could be that the area under the tape isn't entirely flat. (hard to imagine, given the finish of the rest of the piece) But, if you don't look too close, they accomplish the intent of adding realism.

I was at Target wandering around and they had all the Halloween stuff out. "What the heck does that have to do with this review?" you ask. Well, I'll tell you. I saw some plastic pumpkins there that had thousands of little tiny fiber optic threads edging the Jack 'O Lantern cutout areas of the face. The fibers were lighted (duh) and changed colors. The Pumpkins were selling for about fifteen bucks each. The fibers are small enough that they are the right scale for the interactive R2-D2. Wouldn't it have been really cool if they had taken those same fibers and made the "logic function displays"in R2? Yeah, it would have been cool. Hmm .....maybe I'll go get one of those pumpkins and see what it kind of kitbashing can be done...

The projector lenses look good as well. There are the requisite three lenses, but only the front one has a function. It is lighted, and R2 will turn it on and off on command, as well as when he replays a message we'll talk about later. And just in case you're wondering, no, the lens doesn't move. The front lens is molded in clear plastic with the outside painted silver. While I can't say for sure, I think the other two lenses are made the same way, except that the "lens" area on them is painted high gloss black. The effect is good, giving one the impression that they are, in fact, lenses. But if they were molded from clear plastic, I don't know why the lens area was painted over. It seems like it would have been better to leave that area clear.

As with the other parts of the model, the main body of R2-D2 is rendered very well. all of the detail is there, and he even has two functioning doors. Both doors fit well and are held closed with an integrated tab latch. The tab protrudes out somewhat which is not prototypical, but their absence would have made the doors hard, if not impossible, to operate.

All of the distinctive detail of the body is executed very nicely and looks to be very close to scale. Paint is applied evenly and there is no noticeable over spray. The power recharge coupling has been cleverly pressed into service as a switch that I'll discuss later. And the vent that is described as the audio speaker on the real R2-D2 is actually the speaker vent on this unit as well.

Mold seams and part seams, while noticeable in some areas, aren't "in-your-face" visible. There are some that could have been hidden a little better, like the one on the center foot. If it had been moved over about 3/16 of an inch, it would have been less noticeable because it would have been in a corner of some detail. The saving grace is that the molded pieces fit together very well, and that helps minimize the the distraction of the seam.

If someone were to ask for a comparison to other R2's, I'd say I think he's better than most. He's got better detail and proportion than the phone, (left photo)but he's not as good as the limited edition Attakus statue, pictured on the right.

Overall, I'm happy with the finish and attention to detail that was given. This guy really looks the part. Even with all of the "problems" I've discussed, the Interactive R2-D2 is a very nice model visually. While there are areas that would gain from a little extra detail, the fact that the detail is absent really doesn't detract from the overall appearance of the model.

His size helps a lot, too. While he's no where near actual size, he is large enough to have fun with and small enough to operate in the house. Any bigger and he wouldn't have been able to move around much in most homes - and I don't even want to think about how many batteries he would have needed. If he were smaller, he wouldn't be as successful negotiating all the different floor surfaces out there and would have required help moving around. That just wouldn't have been fun. So his size is just about right. Of course, all of us that are fascinated with R2 will always want a full size working version. But until they're available, this one is a very satisfying alternative. When all the technology that is packed into him is considered, I have to admit that they really did a nice job.

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I probably ought to point out here that unlike most other remotely controlled toys, R2-D2 does not come with a remote control. He responds to your voice commands. That feature in itself is probably the coolest thing about him, and the reason he comes so close to the idea of the original R2. He's not on a wire; he's not slave to a radio transmitter. He interacts with you. He responds to you. Most of the time. Since there isn't a remote, it means that R2-D2 can display a little of the personality that made him famous. And that means that he doesn't always do what you thought he would.

When first turned on, R2 turns his head to the right until it hits the stop (He can turn his head about 350 degrees. He can't spin it all the way around.) Then he re-centers his head looking forward while he completes his startup routine. The whole start-up process takes about 20 seconds. R2 will beep and whistle a few times while he's booting up to let you know he's awake, and the red and blue lights in the processor state indicator will blink in an alternating pattern. Once he's ready to take commands and interact, the red and blue lights will blink simultaneously.

His motivators are locked initially on power up, and a red indicator is illuminated in the center of the "wheel lock control" (a.k.a. "power recharge coupling": It's that thing at the bottom center of the front. You know, that blue square that has the cross in it.) Anyway, that will glow red when his wheels are locked. To unlock, simply press on the control. Be advised that once R2-D2 knows he's allowed to roam around, he probably will. The lock is a clever way to allow an otherwise very mobile R2 to be placed on a table top without fear of damage from a self-induced fall. It works kind of like the "restraining bolt" Luke used in ANH.

R2-D2 has a rubber treaded drive wheel in each of his side arms and a captive ball in the center leg, similar to the ball in your computer mouse only bigger. It allows R2 to spin around without having an elaborate steering system. He has a motor in each of his side legs that can operate independently of each other. When run in opposite directions, the drive wheels can spin R2 in place. The captive ball in the center leg accommodates the ability better than any other arrangement would have.

We have tile, wood, area rugs and carpeted floors in our home, and R2-D2 has successfully traversed them all without any noticeable struggle. He has just enough clearance between the skirts of his motivators and the floor to allow him to negotiate minor changes in the floor, such as going from a bare floor up on to a rug, or going over one of those metal tack strips that usually edge wall-to-wall carpeting where it borders other floor coverings. R2's motors seem to be strong enough to manage any kind of floor covering, although I suspect he may get into trouble if you have really deep pile carpet or, if you're into the 70's, shag. Standard cut-pile and berber carpeting hasn't given mine any trouble so far.

R2 is not designed to negotiate steps. Because of the location of his sonar sensors, R2-D2 can't see potentially dangerous changes in the terrain, and will walk right off the top of a table or tumble unsuspectingly down a flight of stairs. Which, if your like me, you don't want to happen. If you don't care, you shouldn't be allowed to have one. Likewise, if he is at the bottom of a step he probably won't be able to see it and will run into it. Things have to be at least around R2's height for him to "see" them. We've noticed that corners can goof him up, and he seems to have trouble around chair legs. It may be that the sonar signal he sends out bounces off those surfaces at odd angles and he doesn't get good information back from the echo. So if he approaches a wall corner at the wrong angle, he probably won't see it and will walk right into it.

R2-D2 holds a 12 oz. can of his favorite soda in his grasper arm.

Because this model can't move his legs, seriously doubt that he can astrogate for an X-wing fighter. He can't move his legs to stand upright, so I don't think he would fit properly in the astrogator position. (I'll never know for sure, since I don't own an X-wing. Well, ok, I do. Three, actually. but they're models. They don't fly. And they're not very big.)

I have asked him to execute the pre-launch sequence on my truck, but in his inimitable style he just stands there and shakes his head "no". Personally, I think he's embarrassed to admit he doesn't know anything about Toyota trucks. I haven't made a big deal out of it since the truck doesn't have any way for him to interface with the computer in it. Besides, he's from Naboo, and they don't have anything like our trucks there. And they don't use keys.

R2-D2 operates and interacts in four different modes: Companion, Command, Course, and Game. Within each of the modes are several commands that he will respond to. Here is an interactive (it does stuff!) matrix of the commands he responds to:

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The idea of a toy that can respond to a spoken command has been around for quite a while. But usually, the commands have been few and simple. In contrast, Interactive R2-D2 is advertised as having a response to over 40 different spoken commands. The table above shows 41 commands, if you don't count the movement commands twice.

For the most part, R2-D2 understands the spoken commands the first time. But don't get frustrated if you find you have to repeat yourself frequently. I have found that if I have to repeat commands to him, the best thing to do is to tell him to "reset system" (funny, he always seems to understand that one...) and start over. It usually fixes the problem. But be aware that if ambient noise levels are high, there's a good chance R2 won't understand you.

R2-D2 is chatty,and he loves to engage you in conversation. I have to laugh sometimes when I talk to him because I begin to believe that his replies of whistles, chirps and beeps seem like reasonable responses. It's really funny sometimes when you ask him a question that he doesn't understand. He'll move a little closer to you and chirp and beep in a way that I swear gives the impression that he's asking "what did you say?"

Hasbro hasn't listed everything R2-D2 can do in the operation manual. For example, you will get responses when you ask him about the different people of Star Wars listed above. But asking about different combinations of names - or asking certain names in sequence, will evoke different responses from Artoo. That's the only thing I've found so far, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there are other "easter eggs" hidden in that little digital brain.

By leaving a few secrets in the programming, Hasbro has made continued interaction with R2-D2 an adventure in itself. There is a lot to learn about the little guy, and by not being able to read about all his abilities gives the sense of learning more and more about his personality as the secrets are uncovered. I know I thought it was pretty cool when he responded differently than I thought he would when I uncovered the secret. At first, I had no Idea why he changed the response. I kept asking him questions trying to get him to do it again, but didn't have any luck until I thought about the fact that Anakin and Vader are the same person. (I hope I didn't give away a movie plot point there).

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R2-D2 has five songs that he can play, two of which are immediately available and three more that are accessed through a secret series of commands.

The first song you're likely to hear is the Cantina song. He plays that when you tell him to run the "Dance Program".

The next song doesn't sound like it's from Star Wars. It sounds more like a game show jingle, and he plays it when he spots someone in the "Spin the Droid" game.

I've already revealed how to get the the next song, which is Darth Vader's theme. You get to this by first asking R2-D2 if he remembers Anakin, and then asking if he remembers Darth Vader. In stead of screaming, he'll play Vader's theme and march around.

The next song he can play is the Hero's theme from EP-IV. This song is accessed by asking R2 if he remembers Chewbacca, then if he remembers Han Solo, and then if he remembers Luke Skywalker.

The final song he plays is a variation on the cantina song. You access this version by asking R2 if he remembers Jabba the Hutt. Then tell him "Game Mode", and "Dance Program".

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In keeping with the character of R2-D2, the Interactive R2 sometimes becomes preoccupied with his own agenda. In other words, he stops listening to you and goes and does what he wants. Whenever C-3PO was confronted with this behavior, he would smack R2 on the top of his dome. You'll find that a slap on the top of the dome gets this ones attention as well. (It might be a good idea to explain to kids that while its OK to whack R2-D2 on the head when he's not paying attention, it isn't an acceptable action when dealing with their live playmates.)

I'm cautious about hitting him too hard. It takes a little more than what I would call a light tap on his noggin to get his attention sometimes, and I try to be as gentle as possible. It is, however, an easy thing to figure out. If he's not paying attention after you pop him the first time, just hit him a little harder.

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I didn't read anything that says he does, but R2-D2 appears to have some feedback technology built into his drive motor circuits. We had a quilt folded up on the carpeted floor in the family room that was 2 or 3 inches thick. Too low for R2 to sense and too tall for him to negotiate, he plowed into it and, since he wasn't strong enough to push it out of his way, he stopped moving. His drive motors kept running, but the sound they made indicated they were under additional strain. After a few seconds of trying to push through the unmoving quilt, R2-D2 reversed his drive motors and backed out. He then turned and started off in a new direction.

R2-D2 has run into things on the tile floor and kept on trying to move forward, but his wheels just spin on the smooth surface. Since they don't encounter any abnormal resistance, R2 seems to think he's still moving forward. So, while the test isn't exactly scientific, it gives the impression that he may be able to tell that he needs to reverse course when his motors bog down.

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The operation manual suggests that R2-D2 can be left on all the time, and he will shut down when there is no one to interact with. I found that he will in fact, shut down, but sometimes he goes into the Room Guard mode, which means he'll sound an alarm if he senses movement. Having R2-D2 sit in that mode probably isn't a good idea if you have pets. I know I don't want him screaming because a cat got up and moved at three o'clock in the morning.

Another reason to shut him off is battery conservation. When he's dormant, his sensors are still on regardless if he's in the room guard mode or not. The first set of batteries I installed in R2-D2 are still OK, but I can tell that they're starting to lose some power. I'm guessing, but I figure he's been on for a total time of just a few hours or so. But a lot of that time has been with movement prohibited. I shut him off whenever I'm not working (playing) with him, because while its kind of a neat idea to have R2-D2 on all the time, I don't want to spend a fortune in batteries to do it.

I'll do a battery test to see how long he can run around the house before the batteries degrade to the useless level, and publish what I find in here.

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Every once in a while a toy comes along that is really amazing. Interactive R2-D2 is one of those toys. As I stated in the headline of this review, R2 is probably the best item to come out of Star Wars besides the movies themselves. While I've identified a lot of things that could be improved, it remains that this is a very advanced version of the lovable droid. I think the little guy is phenomenal. Interactive R2-D2 does a tremendously good job of representing his namesake. He is so good at conveying a personality that you start to treat him like a pet. Even though he's small compared to life-size, you get the sense that this is really R2-D2 when you play with him. While R2-D2 isn't an inexpensive toy, I would certainly recommend him to a collector.

Because so much of the original look and personality have been captured in this version, kids will have a lot of fun playing and interacting with this droid. We'll see if parents think its worth the price during the holidays. I am convinced he's worth the price of two video games. And I'm just glad I'm old enough to be able to buy my own.

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OK, I want to make sure nobody's confused. This article mentions a lot of stuff and a lot of companies. Artoodetoo.com isn't affiliated with any of them. None. I'm not affiliated with any of them either. Not affiliated with anyone but ourselves.STAR WARS is a Trademark ™ of and Copyrighted © by Lucasfilm ltd. The characters of Star Wars mentioned here are the property of Lucasfilm, Ltd. All rights reserved. Artoodetoo.com and its website are in no way affiliated, supported or maintained by Lucasfilm. Not affiliated or supported by Hasbro. This site is prepared and presented purely for entertainment and informational purposes. Droids just wanna have fun. Sears™ and Sears.com™ are Trademarks of Sears, Roebuck, and Company. Wal-Mart™ and Wal-Mart.com™ are Trademarks of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Target™ is the trademarked name of Target Stores. This article expresses my opinions which may vary from other peoples. That's OK. The article has links in it. If they are links to some other company's site, it should open in a new window.