Ruko R1 MINI Robot Dog Reviewed
Occasionally I’ll get something in for review because I think the kids will love it. In the case of the Ruko R1 I couldn’t have been more right- but it raises the question: how am I supposed to review something if I can’t get a look in? I think my plan might have backfired.
The Ruko R1 is another iteration of that particular flavour of toy grade robot that’s absolutely endemic these days. It sets lofty expectations by looking a bit different and more than a little endearingly weird, but at its core it has the same quirky Chinese music, the same dry Aesop’s Fables and the same set of gimmicks that we’ve come across in a half dozen other robot toys.
The Ruko R1 has been a hit with the kids
And yet… it’s so completely silly it kinda pulls them all off much better than prior iterations. Perhaps not by being demonstrably better but by wrapping everything up in a package that feels new and interesting and, of course, riffs more than a little on the wave of jittery robot dogs finding their way everywhere from industrial sites to hobbyist bedrooms.
The R1 straddles an uncanny line between fascinatingly vague sci-fi robot and somehow still cute. It almost resembles a quadcopter (drone, if you want to get needlessly colliqually) with its sort of rounded oblong shape, bright white front light and red back light (navigation lights anyone) and four “legs” (possibly better referred to as extremely irregular wheels) which are affixed to geared, continuous rotation servos and manage an “I’ve just had an accident in my trousers” style walk cycle. The legs fold up against the side of the robot for storage and even have a little white tip so if you squint hard enough you might be convinced it’s a little black Border Collie.
Alongside the robot itself you’ll get a hilariously bulky (for adults, nevermind kids) wrist-watch style tilt controller which slips over hand and thumb like an ineffectively tiny skateboard wrist guard. It also has a ring which does… something… I don’t know what, I refuse to read the manual and I haven’t been able to divine it by mere observation.
Thankfully you need not suffer the bulky (but admittedly functional) tilt controls since there’s also a full featured gamepad style controller with a joystick and the typical dizzying array of feature-triggering buttons you find on these robots (including shoulder buttons). This, unlike the wrist-watch style tilt controller, seems much better suited for smaller hands and is – by far – my kids’ preferred choice of controller. Having a controller more reminiscent of a gamepad than a TV remote works well.
The controller gives access to programming mode- a bit like a modern Turtle if you’re familiar- tap program, tap some directions, tap it again and the robot repeats your commands in order. Alongside this there’s Story, Volume, Kung-Fu, Swim, Hello, Potty, Shake Hands (yes there are all individual labelled buttons with absolutely random sizes and placement) *deep breath* Dance, Roll Left, Roll Right and Stunt.
Above all else, though, the Ruko R1 captivated my robot-obsessed seven year old and they delighted in uncovering all the silly things it does, and also actually like the silly Aesop’s Fables- despite whatever nuance or merit they might once have had being, presumably, lost in translation.
And R1 is competent. Push it over and it spins its legs to pick itself back up. Turn and it uh… rolls over sideways? It’ll also happily do a forward roll, shake hands, and all manner of other silly stunts. It’s not going to leap off tables or over obstacles, however, and it isn’t exactly fast.
There’s even a little touch-sensitive (which perhaps is giving it more justice than it deserves) patch at the back of the robot which triggers actions. Just one, many, a variety? Who knows! Did I mention I barely get a look at the thing?
The controller takes AAA batteries (not supplied) but handily comes with a screwdriver for undoing the required-so-your-kids-don’t-eat-the-batteries screw. The wrist-remote takes a coin cell and no sleep will be lost when it runs out. The robot, though, includes a battery nestled deep within its inexplicable depths and charges with a regular USB Type-C connector. This is a saving grace in my case, since I bought an embarrassment of rechargeable batteries not so long ago and they’ve all already been absorbed into various toys and gadgets. I found a cache of AAAs recently and I’ve swept them into my drawer like a dragon hoarding gold.
Overall the Ruko R1 Mini is a refreshing take on a Christmas mainstay- sure it throws out all the common tropes, the bad music, the terrible stories and the standard toy-grade robot feature set, but it does it with enough style to be special.
Pick up an R1 Mini Robot Dog direct from Ruko for, at time of writing, fifty bucks.