The new Pleo dinosaur robot pet has seven computer brains that control 14 motors and 38 sensors.

"People are in love with robots, but the feedback we have is people need to have a more engaging relationship with their products," said Bob Christopher, chief executive of Ugobe. "They want to treat something like a pet. So we need robots that show and feel emotion and that evolve over time."

"This robot is going to have organic movement, so that it seems to move and behave like something real," Christopher said.

The dinosaur will have "neural network" software -- a program that behaves in a brainlike way as it processes many pieces of information to determine its actions.

The 3-year-old company's robots will be designed to elicit emotional responses, be aware of their environment and change behavior over time. Pleo is a baby "camerasaurus," a real dinosaur that scientists describe as a Jurassic-era equivalent of a cow. Pleo will be about 20 inches long. But Christopher says it will be smart enough to walk along a table, sense the edge and turn back with a whimper and the appropriate emotional body language.

How much longer until a cute little Pleo can trade stocks better than all of us? It can already beat everyone in the world at chess.