Caleb Chung, the co-inventor of the popular Furby doll, is launching a new dinosaur robot for kids called Pleo that he hopes will build upon his dream of creating lifelike, emotionally responsive mechanical animals.

The $200 Pleo will have soft-polymer-based skin that covers a series of pressure sensors, infrared in the head to “see” objects and avoid edges, a potentiometer in its belly, force-feedback sensors in its toes to let it know where it is in the world, one 16-bit CPU and a series of 8-bit chips, 14 servo motors and 40 sensors.

Pleo is the first of a line of “designer life forms” that combine the latest in artificial intelligence, robotics, mechanical engineering and toy design. The dinosaur will have neural network software and will evolve over time. The goal is to have end users to see Pleos as more than just robots, but “living” companions.