Developed in partnership with the Coordinated Robotics Lab at the University of California, San Diego, the WowWee MIP’s body is perched atop a pair of Segway-like wheels, so its body can lean forward and backward during movements. Armed with a self-balancing mechanism, it can spin in place, make sudden turns and carry objects on its arms without falling over (it comes with an included tray for carrying larger items). The robot is stable enough that it can carry the weight of another MIP, too, so you can use it to ferry small items around while doing its ADHD robot thing.

It comes with multiple playing modes, including dancing (its version of dancing anyway), tracking (have it follow one of your limbs around), roaming (basically, an autonomous roving mode), performing tricks (100 preprogrammed commands), and various games (including multiple bot battles). Oh yeah, if you put multiple robots together, you can have them dance in tandem to stage your very own robot rave party.

The WowWee MIP is slated for release in May. It’s now on preorder, priced at $119.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt9P9IhiX_M