Press & Awards

Recognition and Media Coverage Across Three Decades of Innovation

Throughout his career, John's work garnered recognition from prestigious industry organizations, major media outlets, and technical communities. From TIME Magazine features to Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Awards, his innovations consistently captured the attention of both consumers and industry experts.

His contributions spanned educational software, award-winning toys, and groundbreaking robotics, with coverage in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Wired Magazine,Forbes, and appearances on NBC's TODAY Show and ABC's Nightline.

Recognition Highlights

2×

TIME Magazine Features

(2002 Musini, 2006 Pleo)

Patents Granted

(Robotics & Educational Tech)

15+

Major Industry Awards

(Oppenheim, Parents Mag, etc.)

Ugobe / Pleo (2006-2009)

John's work as Co-founder and CTO at Ugobe garnered international attention for creating Pleo, one of the most sophisticated consumer robots of its era. The robotic baby dinosaur received widespread acclaim from major media outlets and industry organizations.

Major Awards

🏅

TIME Magazine - Best Inventions of 2006

"The Doting Dinosaur"

Pleo was recognized as one of the best inventions of the year, bringing international attention to the project and establishing it as a milestone in consumer robotics.

View TIME Magazine feature

🔬

Popular Science - Coolest Inventions of 2007

Recognized for groundbreaking robotics technology and lifelike autonomous behavior

🎯

DEMO 2006 Conference Awards

Won INNY and DEMOgod Awards when unveiled; over 500 attendees lined up after presentation

🌟

Idaho Innovation Award (2006)

Inaugural award winner in the Mechanical Category

Patents & Intellectual Property

The bankruptcy filing listed 16 patents, 60 invention disclosures for potential future patents, and numerous trademarks. Key patents included:

US20080058988A1 - "Robots with Autonomous Behavior"

Granted March 6, 2008. Co-invented by John R. Sosoka and Caleb Chung. Covered methods for operating robots in response to environmental changes by determining dominant drive states, selecting appropriate behavior strategies, and executing robotic motions.

USD614251S - "Robotic Eye" (Design Patent)

Granted April 20, 2010. Inventor: Caleb Chung

Press Coverage

Print Media

•Wall Street Journal - Multiple features on the company and product
•Wired Magazine - Cover stories and detailed technical reviews
•Forbes Magazine - Named Caleb Chung one of nation's top 10 innovators
•Bloomberg/BusinessWeek - News coverage and analysis

Television

•NBC's Nightline - Featured segment
•ABC's The Today Show - Product demonstration
•Various tech review programs and robotics documentaries

Impact: Pleo represented a significant milestone in consumer robotics, bridging the gap between simple robotic toys (like Furby) and advanced robotics platforms (like Sony's AIBO). It demonstrated that lifelike movement and emotional engagement were achievable in consumer products.

Despite Ugobe's eventual bankruptcy, Pleo achieved lasting recognition in the robotics community and is studied by researchers exploring human-robot interaction.

Neurosmith (1997-2003)

As Co-founder and CTO of Neurosmith, John led the technical development of award-winning educational toys that combined child development research with sophisticated electronics. The company received nearly every major toy industry award during its peak years.

Awards & Recognition

🏆

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award

Music Blocks Maestro - The highest recognition for innovative and engaging products

The Oppenheim Platinum Award is the gold standard in the toy industry, recognizing exceptional quality and innovation.

💎

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Blue Chip Classic Award

Music Blocks - Recognizing outstanding products that remain relevant over time

⭐

Parents Magazine "Best Toys of the Year" (1999)

Music Blocks - Featured on NBC's TODAY Show through Oppenheim Toy Portfolio coverage

🎖️

Musini: Platinum Best Toy Award

Revolutionary motion sensor technology toy

✨

Most Innovative Toy of the Year (TOTY Award)

Multiple Neurosmith products also won Creative Child Foundation and Dr. Toy awards (2006)

Neurosmith Press Coverage

TIME Magazine (February 2002)

Featured Musini as "the most innovative musical toy" at the Toy Fair

Read article →

Los Angeles Times (Multiple Features)

Profiled company and founders in 2000, 2002, and 2004, covering both successes and challenges in bringing educational principles to the toy market

Los Angeles Business Journal (2000)

Featured the founders' entrepreneurial journey from Davidson & Associates executives to toy innovators

Television Coverage

NBC's TODAY Show - Products featured through Oppenheim Toy Portfolio coverage

Wired Magazine (2000)

Included in feature on tech-teaching toys and the integration of neuroscience research into toy design

"The publicity from these awards provided crucial visibility for the company, which was too small to afford major advertising campaigns."

— Los Angeles Business Journal, on Neurosmith's award strategy

Davidson & Associates / Early Career (1990s)

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994)

Received "Special Thanks" credit in Blizzard Entertainment's seminal real-time strategy game as Chief Technology Officer at Davidson & Associates, which had acquired Blizzard earlier that year.

Context: CTO position during Davidson's peak; responsible for technical direction during the period when Davidson acquired Blizzard Entertainment for $6.75 million.

Intel Recognition

Received award from Intel Corporation for contributions to developing the MMX instruction set, which significantly boosted PC graphics performance in the late 1990s.

Academic Recognition & Speaking Engagements

Stanford University Lecture (June 2009)

"The Rise and Fall of a Companion Robot"

Following Ugobe's closure, John delivered a candid lecture at Stanford's EE380 Computer Systems Colloquium, offering valuable insights into both the technical innovations and business challenges of creating consumer robotics. The lecture has been cited in robotics education contexts and provides a rare insider perspective on hardware startup challenges.

View lecture details

PARC Forum Presentation

"The Evolution of the Pleo Puzzle" - Technical deep dive explaining the unconventional approach Ugobe took to develop such a sophisticated product, from sensor integration to the Life OS platform.