Pittsburgh Innovates

It was in the spirit of innovation and a passion for Brazilian music that Bossa Nova Concepts was born, a company on the brink of turning Pittsburgh into a robotic toy town.

Sarjoun Skaff, David Palmer and John Feghali met through Carnegie
Mellon University. Prototypes are underway and in the fall of 2009
Bossa Nova plans to launch the first of three robot toys on the
domestic and international market, a foray into the hearts and minds of
tech savvy youngsters.

“There’s nothing else like this on the marketplace,” says David
Palmer, CEO. “It will take robots to the next level, adding all the
rich features of interaction and expression, action and movement, speed
and pace. It’s more than just a remote control toy, it’s a friend and
companion.”

Bossa Nova’s ultimate plan is to develop its own brand and line of
robots, putting a new product on the market every year. Its distinctive
niche is the mobility, agility and speed of its designs.

Although mum on the specifics, Palmer will reveal that the
battery-operated playmates include a tough, high-energy action robot
for boys of about 10, a lovable and cuddly animal robot for young girls
that performs a funny dance routine and a highly mobile expressive
robot, rich in sound with a variety of expressions.

Bossa Nova also plans to launch a robotic virtual world for
children, an online, self-contained place where youngsters who don’t
own a robot can meander and interact in a highly entertaining
environment, meet robot avatars and learn how to build their own.

Bossa Nova plans to add to its team of three plus a handful of
contract employees when the toys takeoff. Last month they won $33,000
in three phases of the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s EnterPrize Business Plan Competition.

Toys will be manufactured in China and sold by well-known retail stores and online. Just call us toy town!

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