I remember watching Toy Story back when I was a kid and wishing that Woody and his friends were real. I mean, we all did, that was the entire premise of the story, and every night when I got into my Buzz Lightyear Bedding and looked at the figurines on my shelf, I would hope that I might catch a peak of them moving around or finally catch them out and get to join in with their cool adventures. Well, what if I told you that there’s an officially licensed Buzz Lightyear Robot that could make all that feel true?
UK-based robotics company Robosen has released a highly lifelike Buzz Lightyear Robot that walks, talks, has movable eyes, and speaks over 200 lines from the official movie scripts. The attention to detail is immense, and you can definitely tell that they’ve spent three years working on creating the best likeness of Buzz possible. I’m looking at the pictures in this article and thinking that it looks too real to be a gadget, like Buzz has actually stepped out of my TV screen and started chatting to me about sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette.
There are 23 smart joints for smooth and natural movement and 34 commands that you can use to make Buzz the ultimate adventure buddy. Watch him stride about your room, pull off his cheesy smile, and come to life just like you always hoped he would when you were holding the original 90s toy and watching the movies.
And while the robotics elements and servo system that make it seem like Buzz is a real-life space ranger are obviously the best parts of this robot, I really love the fact that you can have an ‘Andy’ foot baseplate or swap it out for a blank one to write your own name there. Finally, I can have a Buzz Lightyear with my name on it that actually follows me around – my childhood dream has come true. Use your phone to program Buzz with three different actions; ‘Create, Actions, & Control’, and use your voice to make him move – to infinity and beyond!
The robot is made from ABS, silicone, and aluminium alloy materials and is charged up via USB-C. It weighs 1.7kg, so it’s definitely not the kind of plastic toy that you would throw around your room or tie to Scalextric car so that you can send it round a loop-the-loop. But then again, you wouldn’t do that with any toy or piece of tech that cost £500!
I know that amount of money might seem like a lot, but this is a highly sophisticated bit of kit and definitely not a toy. This is something for the nostalgic collectors out there, the kids who loved Toy Story who have grown up and can now do whatever they want with their pocket money (ie their wage). This is as close as you’re ever going to get to seeing Buzz Lightyear come to life, and from what we’ve seen, it looks pretty darn believable!
Check out the official listing for Robosen’s robotic Space Ranger for more details and videos!
