FEBRUARY 2008: NEXT
The TekPet is, for lack of a more erudite description,
ridiculously cute. And cute with nine “emotions”:
Pat its back and it makes happy noises, scoots smoothly across
the floor and its eyes glow green. Bonk it on the head several
times and it gets mad: red eyes, angry noises, jerky movements.
But it’s cute with a purpose. TekPets are simple,
build-it-yourself robots designed to get middle- and
high-school kids — particularly girls — interested
in electrical engineering and computer science, says lead
developer Ellen Porter, a 20-year-old Gilchrist native and
Oregon State University student. But 12-year-olds soldering
circuit boards? You bet. Last summer, Porter and a team of OSU
students had 38 middle-schoolers build TekPets during a
two-week tech camp called “Out of the Box.” In
December, the Cascade School District outside of Salem agreed
to use TekPets as part of its teaching curriculum. Next up:
TekPets in toy stores. While it’s still unknown who would
do the actual commercialization (OSU initiated the concept and
owns it), Porter and her team think they can have a $40 version
— comparable kits cost around $200 — ready for
market early this year. Suddenly cute sounds synonymous with
smart. ABRAHAM
HYATT
Have an opinion? E-mail feedback@oregonbusiness.com
