Hasbro’s Dancing AMP Robot to Battle Rolly

By Nick Mokey Published June 20, 2008

If you thought that Sony’s Rolly was an experiment that would never make it to market, you were wrong. If you thought it would at least never make it out of Japan, you were wrong again. And if you thought, as we did, that it would never have any competitors, well, wrong yet again.

Toy-maker Hasbro announced their very own robotic dancing machine on Friday, the AMP. Short for “Automated Music Personality,” the AMP will blast your music, dance to it, light up, and add its very own sound effects.

Recommended Videos

Unlike the Rolly, which was an MP3 player in itself, the AMP will plug into any existing MP3 player to get its tunes. Also unlike the Rolly, which was quite petite, Hasbro’s monstrosity will stand a towering 29 inches tall and use a five-inch woofer combined with two tweeters to deliver the music, making it as much a jukebox on wheels as a novelty robot.

After connecting up an MP3 player and sealing it up into a shell in the AMP’s back, users can control him with an IR remote. He’ll dance songs automatically, but users can also mix DJ scratching sound effects in with the remote to participate. You can also set him to always face the remote, drive around following you, or simply park and play music.

While the AMP seems to have one-upped the Rolly in the features department, it also seems to have one-upped the Rolly’s already questionable $399.99 price. When the AMP shows up in retail store in October, it will sell for a cool $500. The six D batteries and three AAA batteries needed to run it for 10 hours? Not included.

Editor in Chief

As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…

Branded Content

Tesla Powerwall is the best solar, home backup, and EV charging companion

Tesla Powerwall 3 installed on outside of home

Solar power, and having solar panels on your home, is a fantastic way to conserve energy and cut down on power bills, especially if you live somewhere sunny like Florida or California. There's just one glaring issue. When the grid goes down you still lose power because of how it's connected. Your solar panels cannot generate enough energy or keep it stored to keep your power on. So, essentially, your power setup doesn't offer much benefit there, unless you get a home power backup system. More specifically, something like a Tesla Powerwall is a compact home battery that stores energy generated from the grid. That energy is then used as a backup when traditional grid power is unavailable.

To make it even more clear, with a Tesla Powerwall, the power stays on even during a major blackout or outage. It's whole-home backup, too, which means you can power your lights, appliances, electronics, you name it. If you've ever had to throw away an entire refrigerator's worth of spoiled food because of a multi-day outage -- like I have -- you'll certainly appreciate the option to keep your appliances running. But that's not all it can do. The Tesla Powerwall is an excellent companion for Tesla EV owners, creating an entire smart ecosystem of power. Let's explore.

Smart Home

Air fryer or cordless vacuum, you choose: Two deep Black Friday discounts worth shopping

Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum in use with pet nearby

Going down probably as two of the most random, unique contenders for smart home and Black Friday deals in a mashup together, we have the COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer and LEVOIT LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum. One will cook your food fast and crispy the other will clean your home fast and effectively. Why not, right? You could even throw some food into the air fryer and get to cleaning while it heats up with the vacuum. Okay, maybe it really is an excellent combo. Nevertheless, these Black Friday discounts will have you a little more excited than normal, let's take a closer look.

COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer -- now $88, was $120 26% off

Smart Home

Best home security camera deals: Ring, Arlo, Blink and more on sale

These are the best security camera deals available right now

Prime Day 2022 security camera deals graphic.

If you're the sort of person who worries about the physical safety of their home or live in a rough area, then having home security cameras can help give you much more peace of mind. The great thing is that in the past decade or so, security cameras have come a long way, and nowadays, you can get things like wireless security cameras that let you access them remotely from wherever you are through an application. Of course, that does mean that there is a huge selection out there, which is why we've collected some of our favorite security camera deals below, although if you're in the Amazon ecosystem, it might be worth checking out these Ring camera deals.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Security Camera -- $27 $50 45% off

While this is ostensibly made for your garage, there's no reason the Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage can't work for other uses as well, especially if you don't need the highest quality of recording. It has an HD camera, which isn't a ton, but it does have an impressive 130-degree field of view. The MyQ also connects through dual-band Wi-Fi for a better connection, and it even has two-way communication, which is impressive for something at this price bracket.