2007 Archive

Baby Pleo Takes His Very First Steps at SAAG 2007

From the archive: this is a preserved news post from the original Pleo Dinosaur! enthusiast blog, written as Pleo approached his 2007 launch. We keep it at its original address for the historical record.

Originally posted October 1, 2007.

One of the loveliest Pleo moments yet was captured on video this week: a newborn Pleo taking his very first baby steps in public, filmed at a recent Sacramento Area Aibo Gathering — SAAG 2007. For a robot whose whole appeal is that he grows and develops, watching him find his footing for the first time is genuinely charming, and the crowd's delight is audible.

Why SAAG Was the Perfect Audience

It's fitting that Pleo's first steps happened here. SAAG is a user group built around fans of the Sony AIBO, the sophisticated robot dog that helped define the consumer-robot scene. These are advanced robot owners — people who understand and appreciate a capable, sensor-rich, programmable creature. If anyone was equipped to recognize what made Pleo special, it was this crowd, and their warm reception was an early sign of the affection Pleo would inspire.

First Steps for a "Newborn"

Because Pleo begins life as a wobbly hatchling and steadies as he "grows," those first tentative steps aren't a bug — they're the intended experience. Seeing a brand-new Pleo puzzle out how to walk, in front of an audience that immediately got the joke, is Pleo in a nutshell: a machine you can't help but read as a baby animal, cheering him on as he stumbles.

A Sign of Things to Come

Moments like this, shared enthusiastically among robot fans, built the affection that carried Pleo through his launch. To learn how those first steps fit into the larger story, visit our timeline, or read more about Pleo's public debut and media moments.