Watch the New Roboraptor Robot Dance!

When I took home the new Roboraptor, a robot that resembles an 11-inch-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex, for my kids to play with last weekend, I thought I knew what to expect.

I figured it would roar (it does) and stomp around looking threatening (while it walks pretty well for a robot, I?d have to say its gait is more of a mince more than a stomp). But with long horns, fierce eyes, and a jaw full of imposing teeth, I didn?t figure it would be loveable.

(If you?d like to see Roboraptor in action, check out the video below, taken by Senior Associate Editor Grace Aquino at the recent E3 confab in Los Angeles--don't forget to press "Play.")

An hour after I brought it home, though, my young son and daughter had tucked it into her bed with the covers up to its menacing jowls. In their imaginations, the Roboraptor (which will cost $119 when it appears on store shelves at the end of this month) had been hurt in a fight with another dinosaur and needed their gentle care. My son confided later that he was sure the Roboraptor really liked him.

The fact is this robotic dinosaur has more personality than you expect from either a robot or a dinosaur. If you stroke his head, he may nuzzle your hand and wag his tail--if he?s in his playful mood. If he?s in another of his moods--hunting, for instance--you may get a more ferocious response.

But my kids seem to have decided the Roboraptor's dark moods are no worse than mine. And they can change his mood with a remote control!

Roboraptor's makers also make last year's Robosapien robot. (And there's a third member of the party. That's the Robopet in the background of Grace's video, righting himself without help. He'll cost around $99; we're not sure when he/she hits the stores.)