Spykee, made by the world famous Meccano Company, is one of a new breed of animatronic toys that seem to grow in popularity year-on-year as the technology becomes more affordable.

As you would expect from Meccano, Spykee is a robot that has to be assembled first, and can also be fitted with any standard Meccano parts. He can be built in three separate forms: as a robot, lunar vehicle or a menacing scorpion.

Spykee will move, talk and see everything, as essentially this animatronic robot is a very advanced version of a radio-controlled toy. The animatronics inside the toy use miniature motors and sensors to provide a wide array of functions. Not only can he be controlled by WiFi in a local environment, but also from anywhere in the world via the internet!

When used through a computer (PC or Mac) Spykee can also be a VOIP telephone for making free calls. His built in camera acts as a webcam as he travels around the floor, beaming pictures to the computer. Furthermore, an in-built movement sensor can be programmed to trigger alarms, and can even take a picture of the intruder to be sent wherever you are in the world!

Naturally Spykee will play MP3 music via a plug socket, and is even clever enough to return to his base unit when he requires re-charging! The equipment list is almost endless – webcam, microphone, flash lighting, lights, rubber tracks, WiFi card, and loudspeaker.