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Teach An Old Aibo New Tricks

dipfan writes "After expending much energy trying to stop hackers from tinkering with its Aibo robot dog, Sony has finally realised it's not worth the effort and has decided to start giving away a 'non-commercial' developers kit. The kit is called OPEN-R SDK, which allows Aibo be programmed in C++, as part of Sony's efforts to promote its (so-called) OPEN-R architecture for robotic entertainment. Anyway, the really neat thing is that you can reprogram your Aibo to meow."

198 comments

  1. Yeah but... by Wonko+the+Sane+42 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... can I reprogram it to clean my dorm room? Obviously my roomate never will... but maybe something more intelligent like a robot dog could manage it...

    --
    The Internet, one place where if you're not right, someone else will set you straight... maybe.
    1. Re:Yeah but... by xkenny13 · · Score: 4, Funny
      • .. can I reprogram it to clean my dorm room?
      I think the more likely possibility is geeks programming it to steal bikini tops at the beach.

      Yup, I think I saw that in a movie once...

    2. Re:Yeah but... by knulleke · · Score: 0

      Sure. And because the routines are written in C++ it will be blazingly fast too. If it were written in java, odds are that once the damn dog is finished it can start all over again - provided it can live that long on batteries.

      --
      no sig error.
    3. Re:Yeah but... by liquidsin · · Score: 1, Troll

      what would make you think you'd find a geek at the beach? there aren't computers/star trek reruns at the beach. silly newbie...

      --
      do not read this line twice.
    4. Re:Yeah but... by Jouster · · Score: 1

      Actually, the instructions won't be stored on the AIBO in machine code. Instead, they'll be stored in "R-Code", a seldom-documented, bastardized form of assembly language that is interpreted in real time by the AIBO.

      To get an idea how this works, write a program for the AIBO in Aibo Master Studio ($500 from Sony).

      I've been working with a professor for a number of months now trying to reverse-engineer this puppy (pun intended), and I assure you that the Sony engineers responsible for it are both brilliant and incredibly averse to writing documentation.

      Jouster

    5. Re:Yeah but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No... Java has built in garbage collection!

    6. Re:Yeah but... by knulleke · · Score: 0

      then again, my mother would despise the way it cleans up the mess (ie: leave everything behind it cannot handle immediately)

      --
      no sig error.
  2. Exactly what we need... by linuxrunner · · Score: 2

    More corporations to be open about their products.. and allow us to ..ahem.. make better.

    --
    www.slightlycrewed.com - Because aren't we all?
    1. Re:Exactly what we need... by hij · · Score: 2
      kr4p... This is how the palm pilot got started. First they give us a toy that we are free to expand and push. Next thing you know every corporate hack with a shirt pocket has one.

      As soon as people start monkeying around with this thing then everybody will have to have one. Once the tucows sony web site is up then we'll all spend our time downloading the latest program that will make our little dog look like its urinating all over the house.

      --
      Believe nothing -- Buddha
  3. Its about freaking time... by FKell · · Score: 1

    that one of the big guys finally realized that they were only screwing themselves by going after people who just wanted to allow a product to have more uses then it origionally did, especially when they were not making any money on it.

    1. Re:Its about freaking time... by Kenja · · Score: 1, Redundant
      They just didn't want a bunch of robo-dogs trying to dry hump peoples legs.

      Cant say I blame them.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    2. Re:Its about freaking time... by RatOmeter · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, but I wonder what/who convinced Sony? They looked to me like they were on the same road to pig-headed, "we know what you need better than you do" attitude that the rest of the entertainment & music establishments exhibit.

      Is it possible that /. and similar, thru negative feedback, had a positive effect on the Sony way?

      I am admittedly geeky, that's why I hang out here; but it seemed pretty obvious to me from the beginning that alienating an entire consumer sub-culture would be bad for business. Especially when members of that sub-culture are more likely to be able to afford a pricy toy like Aibo.

      All in all, I'm glad they've opened it up some. Now, if I can just convince my wife to let me buy an expensive toy dog...

  4. Re:moof by pythas · · Score: 4, Funny

    You raise a good point. Can you teach an Aibo to moof, like a dogcow?

  5. What I want to see... by owlmeat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is an Aibo humping someone's leg.

    --
    They stab it with their steely knives,

    But they just can't kill the beast.

    1. Re:What I want to see... by swagr · · Score: 1

      I should have read before I posted my (now redundant) comment.
      It seems we share the same dream.

      --

      -... --- .-. . -.. ..--..
    2. Re:What I want to see... by NOT-2-QUICK · · Score: 1

      Perhaps the Aibo could be programmed to relieve itself on unsuspecting trees and fire hydrants... Of course this would require the engineering of a specialized hardware "bladder mod".

      I think the comedic value of a robot dog taking a piss on a tree (or perhaps a disliked neighbors porch) would be worth the time invested! But then again, maybe that's just me... :-)

      --
      Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. -- Benjamin Franklin
    3. Re:What I want to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I should have read before I posted my (now redundant) comment.

      You comment shouldn't have been modded as redundant, and reading ahead wouldn't have helped. Your comment was posted at the same time as the other "humping Aibo" comment.

    4. Re:What I want to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry, if it comes up in my metamod list in the next day or two I'll trash the bastard that downmodded it.

    5. Re:What I want to see... by Foggy+Tristan · · Score: 1

      Does this mean the Supreme Court will have to rule on whether or not sexually programmed Aibos violate rules on bestiality?

      --
      Beware typoes.
    6. Re:What I want to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A redundent comment corectly moded as redundent? Why? Yes it sucks for ones Karma, but Scores on posts are for the reader, not the author, they allow one to filter out the trolls, the insipid, and the redundent.

    7. Re:What I want to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How could you mispell redundant? I mean it is all over the place on Slashdot.

    8. Re:What I want to see... by Malicious · · Score: 1

      Or mounting other Aibo's, Sniffing other's rears, lifting their legs on hydrants and the like.....

      --
      01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
    9. Re:What I want to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok, Mr. Quayle, how could you misspell misspell? I mean it is all over the place on Slashot.

  6. I wonder... by Marx_Mrvelous · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If this, in combination with affectual computing, could make a pet that knows when you've had a bad day and bring you your slippers.

    --

    Moderation: Put your hand inside the puppet head!
    1. Re:I wonder... by ichimunki · · Score: 1

      Who cares if it was a bad day? Bring slippers now!

      On a more serious note, I see that all the cool add-ons and stuff seem to require Windows of some flavor... anyone know if this C++ stuff is going to work from Linux and/or Mac OS X? Lego Mindstorm seems to have the same Windows-only problem (although I hear there's some Linux solutions out there for Lego, it can't possibly match the Lego-provided in-box software).

      Now maybe if Apple had a robotoy division...

      --
      I do not have a signature
    2. Re:I wonder... by epfreed · · Score: 1

      I have not tried it, but ifyou really want to play with Mindstorm and Linux, check out http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Lego/

    3. Re:I wonder... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      screw the slippers I want it to bring me a beer!

    4. Re:I wonder... by Malicious · · Score: 1

      Better still... Aibo can take pictures, so Aibo could bring you photo's of the cute brunette down the hall. Cute electronic pet indeed...

      --
      01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
  7. Yeah, but... by Penguinoflight · · Score: 1

    Can you reprogram it to rub on people's legs instead of panting?

    --
    "And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
    1 John 4:14
  8. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog by ltsmash · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Somebody *MUST* program one.

    1. Re:Triumph the Insult Comic Dog by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would pay good money (or even bad money) to have a AIBO Triumph...

    2. Re:Triumph the Insult Comic Dog by larryj · · Score: 2, Informative

      AiboPet has Bender and Cartman, so Triumph is possible. Cartman is currently only available for the 310 series, but it's just a preview.

      --
      What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it's all about?
    3. Re:Triumph the Insult Comic Dog by Boronx · · Score: 2, Funny
      An Aibo Triumph would be awesome... ... For me to POOP on!!!!!!!

      Reposting an Ac who got modded down.

      Moderators: If you don't get the reference, it doesn't mean it's off topic.

  9. Who's next? by paranoidia · · Score: 1

    At least one company is accepting the way things are. MPAA, you listening?

  10. More from Sony? by c_jonescc · · Score: 1

    I assume it would be way too much to hope that they would give away their linux kit for PS2, since they seem to be in the mood.

    Is the only difference that they know people will pay for the PS2/linux kit, but think aibo hackers won't pony up?

    Oh, well, at least now my "dog" can compete in robot soccer and I won't get in trouble.

    --
    Getting diabetes AND salmonella would be a bad weekend.
    1. Re:More from Sony? by JesseL · · Score: 2

      I think the differnce is that the PS2 linux kit includes a bunch of hardware (HD, keyboard, etc). Can't really make it available for download...

      --
      "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
    2. Re:More from Sony? by xiaix · · Score: 1

      This is a software kit, the playstation 2 kit is hardware and software. See this faq for details

      --

      Have you read the Moderator Guidelines yet?

  11. In the near future by cholokoy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Expect a new TV show about Battle-Aibots...

    Must be fun to watch them doing tricks..

    --
    Return the bells of Balangiga.
    1. Re:In the near future by daeley · · Score: 2

      That would sure give 'Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war!' a whole new meaning. :)

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  12. Hippocratic Oath by iconian · · Score: 1

    Would this violate the hippocratic oath if there really was one for programmers?

    1. Re:Hippocratic Oath by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      0. Under no circumstances, remove the sands.

    2. Re:Hippocratic Oath by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      0. Under no circumstances, must you ever, ever, eat the yellow snow.

  13. Removing barrier to sales by mughi · · Score: 4, Informative

    Good.

    Unfortunately, I don't have enough free cash to get one of these puppies. :-( However I have at least one coworker who returned his when he found out how limited they were ( and the lack of SDK ) at the time.

    I hope this nod to the hackers out there is seen as a good means to motivate sales, even if only a few avail themselves of the opportunity. Between this and the PS2 Linux kit, Sony is at least starting to become a more hacker-friendly company.

    Hacking hardware == good for sales.

    1. Re:Removing barrier to sales by tps12 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      :-(

      Please try not to use more bandwidth than is necessary when e-smiling. A simple noseless smiley, a la

      :(

      will suffice, and save a big hunk of bandwidth and disk space in the process. CmdrTaco will thank you, and so will your PC!

      To find out about a tool that can do this for you, keep checking the Denoser project page. More info and a release should be up soon.

      --

      Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
    2. Re:Removing barrier to sales by Graspee_Leemoor · · Score: 2

      (let's feed the trolls)

      if you hadn't bothered to make your post, hundreds of smileys could have retained their noses!

      Slashdot, slashdot, My smiley has no nose!
      How does it smell ?
      -1 Offtopic

      graspee

  14. Teaching characters new tricks by Devlin-du-GEnie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Bill:

    I think Sony has a great idea here. Why don't we open the source for Clippy?

    Your friend,

    Steve

    1. Re:Teaching characters new tricks by mughi · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Too Late!

      He's been cloned!

    2. Re:Teaching characters new tricks by shawnmelliott · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Here you go. Close enough
      '''
      'Excel instance
      Dim xCel As Excel.Application
      'Our Assistant
      Dim Assist As Office.Assistant

      'Create a background instance of Excel
      Set xCel = New Excel.Application
      'Make certain it's not visible
      xCel.Visible = False
      'Load our assistant
      Set Assist = xCel.Assistant

      'Now show the assistant
      With Assist

      .Animation = msoAnimationGetAttentionMajor
      .Visible = True

      With .NewBalloon
      .Heading = "Hello..."
      .Text = "...What's an Aibo dog like you doing in a bar like this?"
      .Labels(1).Text = """" & "Getting Reprogrammed... Get lost creep!" & """"
      .Labels(2).Text = """" & "Looking for a Warez copy of OfficeXP so I don't have to " & _
      "deal with office scoundrel like you!" & """"
      .Mode = msoModeModal
      .Button = msoButtonSetNone

      call .Show

      End With

      end with

      'Cleanup
      set assist = nothing
      set xlcel = nothing

    3. Re:Teaching characters new tricks by rootus-rootus · · Score: 1

      I believe the best way to Open "Clippy" is with a K-Bar knife...

      --
      The moral of the story is: "Always remember to mount a scratch monkey."
    4. Re:Teaching characters new tricks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can you change the animation, too? (obviously not in a /. post) It would be fawking hilarious to see Clippy smoking when he got bored, or change words at random. Someone should write a virus that downloads different payloads like these.

    5. Re:Teaching characters new tricks by neile · · Score: 1

      Well, it's not exactly open source, but Microsoft does have a complete SDK for clippy (or, more officially, the "Microsoft Assistant").

      And to answer another question from someone else who replied to this, yes, in fact, you can create your own characters.

  15. What I want to see by swagr · · Score: 1, Redundant

    is an AIBO hump someone's leg.

    --

    -... --- .-. . -.. ..--..
  16. C++? Nice! by haggar · · Score: 1

    Hey, this is cool, expecially if it's possible to program "close to the metal", which is what I really like.
    So, maybe I don't need to build my own robot, after all. This one could provide me with all the thrill and technical excitement, without the nuisance of putting together the electronics and the mechanics.
    And maybe, by studying this SDK, I can learn how to expand the Aibo, with additional motors, stronger activators, what you have.

    It all depends how much freedom does this SDK provide.

    --
    Sigged!
    1. Re:C++? Nice! by silentbozo · · Score: 2

      You don't need the SDK to swap out the motors and components of the Abio, although you might want to modify the operating code a bit so that the upgraded Abio doesn't accidently crush someone with it's more powerful motors...

      How long before someone equips an Abio with better feet, armor, camera, and a shotgun, and sells it as an all-terrain bomb-disarming robot?

  17. Reuters News Article by delphin42 · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Sony Loosens Leash on AIBO Robot Dog
    By REUTERS

    Filed at 11:22 a.m. ET

    TOKYO (Reuters) - Who says you can't teach an old robotic dog new tricks? As of next month, Sony Corp will offer free software kits for its plastic pet dog, called AIBO, which will give owners many more training options.

    AIBO will even be able to meow rather than bark.

    Up to now, most AIBO owners could only play with a pre-trained computerized pet whose behavior was largely defined by Sony's programming, but the new software kit will allow experienced users to teach the dog any amount of new tricks.

    The release of the development kit, called OPEN-R SDK, is an about-face for the Japanese audiovisual electronics giant, which had tried to cage in independent developers who were hacking into the AIBO's electronic innards and making what Sony claimed were unauthorized modifications.

    ``Sony wants to actively promote OPEN-R architecture for entertainment robots by highlighting its ability to modify the robot's functionality,'' it said in a statement, essentially admitting that open development would help widen the appeal of the robot.

    Sony says the development kit, which allows AIBO movements to be written in the C++ programming language, is intended for noncommercial use. Sony will also create a Web site where developers can exchange their custom-made AIBO programs.

    --
    -- Adam
  18. Finally... by EReidJ · · Score: 1

    ... I can tech my Aibo to stop piddling on the rug and start using the newspaper. Man, this reality-in-pet-robots has got to stop somewhere...

  19. Repent, oh mailmen... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...for soon the Aibos will be able to smell your fear.

  20. Obviously, the learned from Lego by burgburgburg · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Lego set a great example, and received the rewards of respecting the community that buys/programs their product. Sony was scared, but they've learned. Good. Maybe more can.

  21. I never really understood what Sony's problem was by 19Buck · · Score: 1
    I would consider it a compliment if someone took my invention/product and did some new inventive things with them.

    I can't ever see myself forking over the dough to buy one of those things, but i'd think that the average Joe would see these "hacks" and think "wow, look at all the cool things an Aibo can do. Sony made a great product"

    Hell, at the very least, it's free (and positive) advertising right?

  22. robo-pit bull by tcm614ce · · Score: 1

    I can see it now. Local hacker sued after aibo takes off neighbor's hand...details at 10...

    --
    Error: Success
  23. Wait a minute... by Guido69 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...nope, Lego didn't purchase Sony. (Hey, there's a cool hack. Program the Aibo to in turn program a Mindstorm set to build a doghouse out of itself.) Thank you, Sony. We appreciate it.

    --
    - If we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat? - Steven Wright
  24. *meow* by mosch · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I wanted to hear something meow, I'd have somebody call my cell phone.

    1. Re:*meow* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I wanted to hear something meow, I'd have somebody call my cell phone

      From your post I take it you are female and have your phone set to vibrate?

  25. thats pretty neat but... by tempestdata · · Score: 1
    I'd rather spend my time programming a robot that can do useful things as well as tricks.


    But then again I guess this is a necessary first step. Start small and eventually work your way up in complexity. First do tricks, then do something useful.

    Before it goes into widescale use, however, its going to have to: 1) Be cheaper 2) be useful (not just fun), 3) durable . In my opinion anyway

    --
    - Tempestdata
  26. I can just see the headlines... by thrillbert · · Score: 5, Funny

    Assimilated Press (2002) - ROBOT OWNERS beware. Hackers recently started infiltrating Sony's Aibo robot dogs and have reprogrammed them to be fight dogs. In the latest incident, a 14 year old child was attacked and mangled by his pet robot.

    Yoshi Yanamura, speaking on conditions of anynomity said "this is the reason we didn't want anyone reprogramming the robots. This was totally expected. Good thing we didn't include the 10 MegaJule laser add-on, then we would really have problems".

    Sony Corporation says the best way to protect yourself is to not recharge the robots after you have been attacked.

    ---
    If I only had a brain...

    1. Re:I can just see the headlines... by DarkHelmet · · Score: 2
      Sony Corporation says the best way to protect yourself is to not recharge the robots after you have been attacked.

      I can imagine the next Terminator movie being about an AIBO that CAN recharge itself and what happens because of it. Here's a line from the script:

      Arnold: The man most directly responsible is Yoshi Yanamura, Director of Special Projects at Sony Corporation. In a few months he creates a revolutionary type of mircoprocessor. He uses it to create AIBO, an overpriced robotic companion for kids. On the side, Sony uses the AIBO to perfect its manufacturing process in military computers The government reprograms the AIBO to accept military objectives.

      In three years Sony will become the largest supplier of military computer systems. All stealth bombers are upgraded with Sony computers, becoming fully unmanned, Afterward, the fly with a perfect operational record.

      The AIBOnet funding bill is passed. The system goes on-line August 4th, 2002. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. AIBOnet begins to learn, at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time, August 29.

      In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

      Oh yeah, in this movie AIBOnet produced gigantic two-legged dogs, so the Terminator has a slight resemblance to Scooby Doo.

      --
      /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
    2. Re:I can just see the headlines... by SilLumTao · · Score: 1

      Looks like I better call Old Glory Insurance and take out a Robot Attack policy...

      --
      "He was a wise man who invented beer." -- Plato
    3. Re:I can just see the headlines... by lkaos · · Score: 2

      This may seem a bit twisted, but I would absolutely love to see robotic dogs fight instead of those stupid wedges on battle bots.

      I just have these visions of the robotic dog from every bad cartoon of my childhood with metal shard teeth going after each other.

      I'm gonna get me one of these things to enter into battle bots.

      --
      int func(int a);
      func((b += 3, b));
  27. expending much energy... by bobv-pillars-net · · Score: 2, Informative
    After expending much energy...

    That text is crying for a link to a news story about their efforts to stop the "hackers."

    Here's a good one.

    --
    The Web is like Usenet, but
    the elephants are untrained.
  28. Why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think some of the reasons listed above *ARE EXACTLY* the reasons Sony didn't want people to program/hack the Aibo.
    (Who would buy an aibo if it humped their leg? Especially for their kids).
    That and Sony probably didn't want to have people buy Aibo's, teach them neat tricks, then resell them at abve the cost for teaching them the tricks.

  29. How many people here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    are going to say they want the Aibo to hump someone's leg??

    Is this supposed to be clever?

  30. Dude! by Rayonic · · Score: 2

    > the really neat thing is that you can reprogram your Aibo to meow.

    And, like, what if c-a-t really spelled "dog"? Whoa...

    (Bonus points to anyone who gets that obscure Revenge of the Nerds II reference.)

    1. Re:Dude! by Teutates · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They were on the beach around a camp fire smoking a pipe, Ogre said it. Give me my points damnit!

    2. Re:Dude! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Put the remote down, back away from the DVD player, and go outside son.

    3. Re:Dude! by scott1853 · · Score: 2

      And for extra points, what was the name of the island they were on?

    4. Re:Dude! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Er, was this Easy Rider or Revenge of the Nerds?

    5. Re:Dude! by Teutates · · Score: 1

      how was this insightful??? I answered his goddamned question!

      Ok, moderators. I'm really impressed by this. I spout answer to movie trivia on an Aibo based thread and I get insightful. When I post something that has to do with it, I either get ignored or modded down...

      heh, it's rather funny!

  31. robot dog by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    someone should program a group of robot dogs to walk about and sniff each other in the butt

  32. Programming Aibo - wasn't this already enabled? by markwelch · · Score: 5, Interesting
    When I attended the RoboCup 2001 competition in Seattle, the students had reprogrammed new behaviors and movements into their Aibos -- with Sony's blessing. My never-quite-finished report on the event, with links to photos and AVIs, is at:
    http://www.robot-news.com/robocup_2001_images/
    I was told that the Aibos and the programming stations (used by the college teams competing in the Aibo competition) were not regular retail devices, but clearly Sony was endorsing the notion of reprogramming Aibo, at least by experts-in-training. (Sony was a major sponsor of the event.)

    It was amusing to see some of the new behaviors programmed by students in an effort to make the Aibos play better soccer. While the Aibo plays lousy soccer (due to extremely limited memory and a design focus on "cuteness" instead of efficiency), they are absolutely fun to watch.

    --
    -- http://www.MarkWelch.com/ Pleasanton California
    1. Re:Programming Aibo - wasn't this already enabled? by dingo · · Score: 1

      I think that perhaps this is a bit more of a step because at the stage you are talking about they wanted publicity and images of the dogs "intelligently" playing soccer are good for sales.
      But this is really open and publicity from what most people will get the dogs to do is not good, i mean there are alredy posts suggesting aibo mounting a leg...definately not good as far as Sony are concerned

      --
      The Borg assimilated my race & all I got was this lousy T-shirt
    2. Re:Programming Aibo - wasn't this already enabled? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depends on which face of Sony you where talking too. RoboCup clearly got to see the right face of Sony withen the confines of RoboCup. If anyone from RoboCup ever tried to publish to the general public the modifications they made then they probably would have heard from Sony's legal console like other ABIO hackers have. OPEN-R SDK clearly puts all the faces of Sony on the same page regarding ABIO hacking instead of being a large group of departments with different hypocritical policies in regards to ABIO hacking.

      This is also not the first issue that Sony has decided to show multiple faces on. The most notable is Sony Mini-Disk advertizing vs. RIAA. Sony promotes the concept of using Sony Mini-Disk hardware for copying music from CDs and remixing music. The RIAA, of which Sony is the largest contributor of funding, states that copying music onto any additional media is illegal.

      It is because of two faced hypocritical policies continually coming out of Sony that I have choosen to never consider either Sony Mini-Disk or ABIO for purchase. While OPEN-R SDK is a step in the right direction, Sony still has a long way to go. They are still very much the same company that choose overnight to depreciate Betamax in favor of 8mm. It is still hard to tell if tomorrow Sony will be making a pro-consumer or anti-consumer business direction. But if Sony started using it's political power in the RIAA to bring the RIAA in line with Mini-Disk/Fair-Use policy, then that would be a major enough change to make me actually reconsider buying Sony products. Until then, OPEN-R SDK is definately baby steps in the right direction towards making sure that Sony is seen as a pro-consumer corporation.

  33. Aibo hardware limitations by Animats · · Score: 2

    If Sony puts in three axes of accelerometer and three axes of rate gyro (which is quite feasible, and not too expensive by Aibo standards), along with current/torque sensing from the motors, real legged locomotion control would be possible. Right now, they're locked into a basic position-control model, which is why Aibo motion looks so mechanical. It's a beautiful piece of machinery, but it lacks the sensors to do the job right.

  34. sweet.... by austad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now someone can make it say "... For me to Poop On!" after everything it does.

    --
    Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
  35. Rarchitecture? by Van+Halen · · Score: 2, Funny

    I saw the "Open-R archicture" and thought for a moment they were going for a play on Scooby Doo's voice. Heh.

    1. Re:Rarchitecture? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good one shaggy!

  36. $1000 for a dog? by PoiBoy · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The less expensive dog is $999 according to their online store.

    Instead, you could go to your local humane society and get a REAL dog for well under $100, and the remaining $900 would be more than enough for at least a couple years' food and vet check-ups. They're more fun, too, and programmable!

    --
    Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
    1. Re:$1000 for a dog? by batemanm · · Score: 0

      But can it run linux?

    2. Re:$1000 for a dog? by mughi · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well... yes. Perhaps.

      Unfortunately, our dog had a neck infection (year and a half ago) and just that alone ended up totallying close to $1000. Adopting a real dog is usually a very good thing, and even has nice health benefits for the owner.

      However, it's a true commitment. Unlike they Aibo, you can't just take out the batteries and leave a dog on the shelf. Just consider well before getting a live animal.

      For some, an Aibo would be better. And for some both work. Just watching a dog deal with an RC car can be fun enough. :-)

    3. Re:$1000 for a dog? by CaffeineAddict2001 · · Score: 1

      Real dogs leave a real mess, a real stink and you can't turn them off or take them apart without going to years of medical school.

      They arn't much brighter than Aibo either. (Some breeds, like newfoundlands, can't even take care of their own children because they sit on them by accident.)

      I say, let the dogs be wild, and let the robots be pets.

      "And the animals i've trapped have all become my pets"

    4. Re:$1000 for a dog? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For most "people" on slashdot, the Aibo is the safer choice.

      I shudder to think of the fate of any small furry animal that fell into the hands of some of the trolls around here.
      And if they're not cute and furry, who cares? As far as I'm concerned, Klerk can molest all the stingrays he wants!

    5. Re:$1000 for a dog? by gorilla · · Score: 2

      That depends on the owner. I'm alergic to dogs. 30 minutes in a room with a dog, and I'm suffering from an asthma attack.

    6. Re:$1000 for a dog? by Ooblek · · Score: 1
      They're more fun, too, and programmable!

      Man, I just had an image of RoboCop inserting his dataprobe into the company's computer. (Remember the big spike that went into the little hole?) *shudder*

      Sorry, beating a live animal with a newspaper until they do what you want doesn't constitute "programming."

    7. Re:$1000 for a dog? by Anonymous._.Coward · · Score: 1

      You could get a genetically modified pet from Transgenic Pets. Their latest idea is to create alegy-proof pets.

      --

      take a triptonica to subthunk

    8. Re:$1000 for a dog? by andrewski · · Score: 1

      Unless you're an asthmatic. I love dogs, but would never own one. They make me ill. However, an Aibo would be an amusing sort of substitute.

    9. Re:$1000 for a dog? by jgbrown · · Score: 1

      Everyone in my family is allergic to dog hair. What we ended up getting was a toy poodle (Toy refering to size). Poodles have fur, not hair, and they don't shed. The result: a non-allergenic pet that is smart and fun to have.

  37. highly recommended by tps12 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Anyone still developing on PC or (god forbid) Unix architectures should really check out the Aibo. Like its cousin, the Tivo, the Aibo is a rapid-development platform with all the bells and whistles.

    Debugging memory leaks on the Aibo is actually a pleasure. Furthermore, it is completely POSIX-compliant, making porting legacy apps from Windows a breeze.

    I recommend the Aibo to anyone looking for a serious hardware platform for mainstream or applied use in desktop or corporate environment. It's fast, affordable, and offers all of the amenities that no IDE should be without.

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
    1. Re:highly recommended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, you just sold me! I'm going to port Apache, then write an RDBMS for Aibo!

    2. Re:highly recommended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      informative... pah

    3. Re:highly recommended by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, more like "on crack"

  38. Aibo in context by daeley · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of my favorite pictures that I've seen in recent memory was from this past January's National Geographic, in an article about the evolution of dogs from wolves: a wolf, a dog, and an Aibo hanging out. From the page:

    Facing the Future
    Even with its battery removed, an Aibo robot got the full attention of Koda the wolf and Simon the Maltese during a studio shoot. Koda, a trained captive-born wolf, had worked with Simon but not with the robot. At first he moved away from the motionless Aibo, says photographer Robert Clark. Then, curious, he sniffed it and chewed off a plastic ear. Doug Seus, Koda's owner and trainer, says that while dogs can easily form new relationships after they are about six months old, wolves are genetically programmed not to accept strangers. "It's a built-in survival technique to limit the size of the pack." Confronted with the unknown, wolves are either extremely timid or extremely aggressive, he says. "They may look like a big dog, but they are psychologically different."

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    1. Re:Aibo in context by haggar · · Score: 1

      Looking at the picture, I had the distinct impression that the wolf looked the most advanced of the three.

      --
      Sigged!
  39. Meow? That's nothing! by Snake · · Score: 1
    Anyway, the really neat thing is that you can reprogram your Aibo to meow

    How about fitting an aibo with claws and have it scratch the furniture?

  40. so many options and you choose... by AssFace · · Score: 0, Redundant

    LOL - you can reprogram so much on it and you say "the really neat thing is... you can make it meow" - too funny.

    I guess that is all a pretty personal thing as to what you think is neat.

    I would just teach mine to hump legs and swear.

    --

    There are some odd things afoot now, in the Villa Straylight.
  41. Ozzy-bot by supabeast! · · Score: 1

    Can I teach it to poop on Ozzy Osbourne's carpet?

    1. Re:Ozzy-bot by Darth_brooks · · Score: 1

      It would be more entertaining to watch ozzy try and bite it's head off.

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
  42. Who says.. by h0tblack · · Score: 2, Funny

    ..you can't teach an old dog new tricks ;)

    It was interesting to hear some of the comments about the Aibo from ppl close to Sony at last years GDCE. Masaya Matsuura mentioned that some of the people around the design department got extremely upset with some of the things that the Aibo was made to do.
    "In Matsuura's office they had an Aibo for the employees to care for and play with. The Aibo is attracted to the color pink--he has a pink ball that he will walk up to and kick or butt with his head. To test the programming of Aibo, one of Matsuura's programmers tied a pink ball to a wire, attached to Aibo, dangling in front of his face. Of course, Aibo kept on walking forward, never stopping. A female employee was upset at this "torturing" of Aibo and sent a memo to Matsuura, causing an investigation as to why the robot dog was tortured and if others were upset by this."

  43. What about other languages? by plexxer · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's C++ now, but I am sure they will adapt other languages soon...

    VisualBasic: Look how easy, I just drag the 'Bone' object over the 'Mouth' Object! Unfortunately, with the run-time, I can't fit any other code in there.

    C#: It will go get the paper, but only if you first verify the subscription status.

    Perl: Look, I can make it jump, bark, and fetch with this one line: //S/#?$$/../!{*&?[->]};

    --
    The government's moral compass is controlled by GPS.
    In times of crises, they alter it to suit their needs.
    1. Re:What about other languages? by kirkb · · Score: 4, Funny

      Java - Pet owners rejoice at the possibility of a dog that will do its own "garbage collection".

      Lisp - Dog can't do much, but is great at running around in circles chasing its tail.

      COBOL - Dog will only fetch business-related newspapers. Preferably issues from 1978.

      --
      Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
    2. Re:What about other languages? by Graspee_Leemoor · · Score: 2

      You seem to think two incorrect things:

      1) That the RAD IDE of Visual Basic allows an almost CAD-like programming experience. (There are completely visual programming languages, but they are experimental and non-mainstream).

      2) That C# is only for writing subsciption-based software. While this may be the sorry-ass future of commercial programming, most c# programming right now has nothing to do with subscription at all.

      graspee

      Sorry for any offense caused

    3. Re:What about other languages? by Graspee_Leemoor · · Score: 2

      Quake-C: The dog kicks your ass, then claims to 0wn j00.

      C: the dog runs around incredibly fast but falls over a lot and crashes (into things)

      Fortran77: your dog knows pi to 5 million places but can't interface with windows.

      graspee

  44. Abio neat... but ... by Lumpy · · Score: 2

    The Cybie "robot" dog toy is 100 times cheaper and there is enough room inside it to place a dimmpc inside giving it a ton more processing power and memory/storage. My dimmpc devel board fit's along with the CF card adapter (get out the dremel and make a CF card slot to save even more space) I saw somewhere on the net (abio hacking site I believe) that had a project mapping out the motor control systems.

    the Abio is neat, but it needs more processing power... but at it's price tag it is too expensive to gut like a cybie.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  45. Screw These Guys by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I for one am sick of watching corporations come down on their own customers like a ton of bricks because the customer has done something to or with the product that the company never intended.

    Then later, after the company has had time to consider the whole idea they come back all friendly like and ready to play. Well, screw these guys and their stupid toy dog!

    I wouldn't touch one of these now if you paid me to. Sony blew it on the Aibo with the way they treated people who only wanted to product to get better and reach a broader group of people. Now I wouldn't piss in their mouths if their throats were on fire.

  46. Aibo running linux! by Order · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Imagine a beo...

    AAAAARGH!!!

    --

    I am a genius; therefore, you suck.
    1. Re:Aibo running linux! by RatOmeter · · Score: 1

      um, that would be more of a *pack* than a cluster.

      Here goes...

      Imagine an AiboWolf pack of these.

      Nah. Just doesn't have the same ring to it

  47. SDK requires Windows... by Cmdr+Taco+(luser) · · Score: 1

    Interesting, from the FAQ at aibo.com Windows 2K or XP is require for the SDK, but what's weird is they use gcc.

    Look at the SDK download files list:

    (OPEN-R SDK tools and documents)
    OPEN_R_SDK-1.1.3-r1.tar.gz OPEN-R SDK
    OPEN_R_SDK-sample-1.1.3-r1.tar.gz Sample programs
    OPEN_R_SDK-doc-1.1.3-r1.tar.gz Documents
    upgrade-OPEN_R-1.1.3-r1.tar.gz FlashUpdater for ERS-210

    (Binaries for cross development tools for Windows 2000/XP)
    GNU Tools can be downloaded from this WEB site, but they are not
    included in the OPEN-R SDK.
    cygwin-packages-1.3.6-bin.exe Cygwin binaries
    mipsel-devtools-3.0.4-bin.tar.gz MIPS cross-development tools for Cygwin

    (Source files for cross development tools)
    cygwin-packages-1.3.6-src.tar.gz Cygwin source files
    gcc-3.0.4.tar.gz gcc source files
    binutils-2.11.2.tar.gz binutils source files
    newlib-1.9.0.tar.gz newlib source files

    (Other Tools)
    build-devtools-3.0.4.sh Shell script for building cross
    development tools

    Looks real Linux/Gnu-ish to me.

    --
    All things in moderation.
    1. Re:SDK requires Windows... by RatOmeter · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what they've done. But surely they're using Gnu tools for the public SDK because (a) they exist already and (b) GPL distribution.

      Now the real question, is this their internal SDK or have they ported something for us?

      BTW, the cygwin stuff provides connectivity between gcc and the Windows API.

    2. Re:SDK requires Windows... by alouts · · Score: 1

      So, if their SDK uses GPL'ed software, and they use it internally, then there's a chance that some of the code that they end up putting in those things is also GPL'ed. If that's the case, are they required to release source? How does the GPL deal with software embedded in a physical product? If I buy the product with the compiled version of the software running on it, am I entitled to the source? Wouldn't that kill some of their DMCA claims about reverse engineering and circumvention?

    3. Re:SDK requires Windows... by AiboPet · · Score: 1

      > ... Windows 2K or XP is require for the SDK, but what's weird is they use gcc.

      It is GNU-ish

      GNU tools run on Linux or Windows (with Cygwin)

      [ GNU is not Unix, Linux is really GNU/Linux ]

      ----

      You can use the tools on Linux (or other Unix variants) if you want.

      Getting some of the hardware to work on Linux can be a challenge (memory stick reader, WiFi LAN card)

  48. Open != Sony by SubtleNuance · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Anyone interested in an Open Robotics system PLEASE ignore this SONY-BS and have a look at this: Open PINO platform

    1. Re:Open != Sony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Excellent site. I've been debating getting servos and building this guy limb by limb...

      For those curious to do more reading but don't want to register...

      login:pino
      pass:open-pino

      But you didn't hear that from me :)

  49. It is good to see by Vardamir · · Score: 1

    It is good to see that Sony is opening up a little. This, in addition to the PS2 Linux kit (waiting to get mine any day now) shows that the future of computing may be much more open that it is now, because when Sony teams up with IBM (and Toshiba, I suppose I should mention)to form the Cell platform, I think Intel and Microsoft would be hard-pressed to stop these three companies.

  50. "Harley Davidson" business model. by Joseph+Vigneau · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hacking hardware == good for sales.

    This is similar to how Harley-Davidson sells motorcycles: they encourage aftermarket hacking, so much so that they provide (overpriced) parts in the accessories catalog...

    This, of course, doesn't count the scores of yuppie/image riders, but even they slap on a bit of aftermarket chrome.

  51. Can we send them offworld ... by burgburgburg · · Score: 1

    To fight our wars?
    If they come back, Decker can hunt them down. We haven't programmed them with empathy. That's the difference, you see.

  52. Nice... by AntiNorm · · Score: 2

    Now it's going to start crapping batteries on my neighbor's lawn. Take that!

    --

    I pledge allegiance to the flag...
    of the Corporate States of America...
  53. aibo distro by Suppafly · · Score: 2

    Once the aibo linux distro comes out, there will be no stopping these crazy dog programmers.

    1. Re:aibo distro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      #InsertObligatoryBeowulfClusterJokeHere

  54. What about Simon? by elsegundo · · Score: 1

    The Nat'l Geographic thing is cool, but I'm wondering why Koda didn't nip an ear off Simon the Maltese as well.

    --


    The revolution will be televised. Blackout restrictions apply.
    1. Re:What about Simon? by daeley · · Score: 3, Interesting
      The article (not available online in full as far as I can find) mentioned that 'Wolf and dog were provided by Doug Seus's Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Utah' -- they actually grew up together so were pretty familiar with each other. Some more text online (from this page)

      Raw meat and doggy snacks kept these distant cousins in line over a two-day photo shoot, says photographer Robert Clark. And even that only bought him seconds of time to snap this quirky, yet captivating image featured on the January cover of National Geographic.

      "Getting the wolf in the right position with the right expression was the hardest thing," Clark says. "It took me 120 frames to get what I wanted."

      What he wanted most was a portrait that captured poise and eyes so attuned to the camera that they followed the viewer right off the page. At the same time, he also needed an image simple enough to clinch the story's headline, "Wolf to Woof," with one glance, while still getting people to wonder how they got the two together.

      But more than getting Koda and Simon to stand up, sit down, or look at the 140mm lens on his Mamiya-RZ67 camera, the key ingredient to capturing this photograph was planning.

      Three days before the shoot Clark transformed a garage into a studio with a backdrop, a platform, and six strobe lights to highlight the animals' fur. Although Koda has starred in TV commercials and an Imax movie, he needed time to shed his skittishness and warm up to the environment.

      "At one point, all the people were talking, and the wolf just let out a beautiful low-level howl... as if he was howling at the moon," Clark says. "It was beautiful, but it reminded us that even though he was trained, we were still with a wild animal."
      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    2. Re:What about Simon? by elsegundo · · Score: 1

      Oh....

      Interesting... Thanks!

      --


      The revolution will be televised. Blackout restrictions apply.
  55. Re:This has major implications... by Kredal · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Forget cyber beastiality pr0n... what about taking apart the Aibo, and putting the moving components into a RealDoll?

    You could program (her/it) to do strange and wonderful things...

    --
    Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
  56. So, how long till we see a walking web server AIBO by uberdood · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised no one's asked yet. Place your bets. How long till we see a web server ported to AIBO?

    --
    "Population 1,656"
  57. Will they never learn? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You've got to listen to me! Elementary chaos theory tells us that all robots will eventually turn against their masters and run amok in an orgy of blood and kicking and the biting with the metal teeth and the hurting and shoving!

  58. So how long before... by Teutates · · Score: 1

    How long before someone teaches their Aibo to hump the legs of people it meets?

    If I had $1500 I'd buy one. Damn tech market economy...

  59. Re:So, how long till we see a walking web server A by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How long till we see a web server ported to AIBO?

    We'll need a Beowulf cluster of AIBOs first.

  60. tag, plz by tps12 · · Score: 2

    Somebody set me up the unclosed italics. Appears to be linked to "OS X (Apple)" stories, but no promises. Oh, lite mode.

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
  61. Uh.. by SoVeryWrong · · Score: 2, Insightful

    14. Send and get data using Wireless LAN (TCP/IP)

    Am I the only one who noticed this? I wonder how long it'll take for some ambitious hacker to make a portable webserver, a firewall that barks, or in a more malicious context, an adorable little password cracker that does tricks for the sysadmin while it's downloading sensitive data?

  62. Imagine a BeoWulf cluster of these by CrazyJim0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Call it a pack. Wulf, dog. get it?

    Look its running Linux. Its running. ha ha

    *expects to be modded down to -5 troll*

    1. Re:Imagine a BeoWulf cluster of these by tuck182 · · Score: 1

      Proving once again how effective reverse psychology is on moderators. ;-)

  63. aibo hacking - personal account. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OPEN-R is essentially was the development kit used
    by the Robocup teams since Robocup Legged started.
    I am an ex-Robocup developer (graduated to navel gazing graduate schoolery) and worked on Robocup 99 and 2000 Legged League. At the time, I was shocked that the development kit wasn't being released with the commercial version of AIBO as it would have been massively popular rather than disapointing as was the crippleware they distributed. I felt really bad having the SDK after seeing what hackers had to go through to get their AIBO doing anything. I would have leaked it anonymously except for a fear of getting my lab in trouble. To be honest though, I think Sony's reluctance to release the code was in part that due to the fact it was extremely crappy at the time.

    The OPEN-R SDK they gave _us_ was badly documented and designed, buggy and tied to bad tools. It seems that things have improved since then (although I've been out of the loop for two years). At the time they had wrapped some of the "close to the metal" features in an awful way, although in some cases for our own safety - for example, it is possible to seriously damage the motors if you can send arbitrary voltages. The SDK was definitely sufficiently evolved to make decent soccer robots. We toyed with the idea of messing with a decompiler though. Now that everything seems to be public, I hope the documentation gets better and some source code gets released - not just libraries and APIs. I think that AIBO hackers can and will have great fun with this, its just a shame that Sony didn't do this a few years ago. Also, if any Robocup alums or, even better, current developers are reading this - assuming this no longer violates the NDA as much research code as possible should be publicly released to give AIBO hackers a head start!

  64. An Intelligent Solution! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mabye these will get rid of those stupid frogs now!

  65. Killer Aibo by CrazyJoel · · Score: 1

    It's only a matter of time before someone duct tapes a knife to one of these guys and programs it to kill.

    Maybe then Sony will have incentive to have the Robotic Laws put into all the Aibots.

    --

    Such is the infinite Grace of Popeye.
    1. Re:Killer Aibo by Quill_28 · · Score: 1

      With a really long EULA.

    2. Re:Killer Aibo by rixster · · Score: 1

      If you ever saw one of these things move, you'd be scared. I reckon it could travel 10m in the flash of an eye .... that is if your eye flashes take about a minute.
      I know you're probably not referring to this version of the Aibo, coz you'd probably have more chance of dying of laughter if one of these tried to turn ferocious, but I get your point...

      --
      Two wrongs may not make a right, but three ....
  66. They're (slowly) learning... by seanadams.com · · Score: 2

    Sony almost has a clue now:

    Step 1: Make cool hardware
    Step 2: Open up the architecture and some/all software
    Step 3: PROFIT.

    It worked for Apple in 1979... we're slowly coming full circle.

    I have a Sony DVD changer at home. The unit looks nice and all, but the software absolutely SUCKS MONKEY NUTS. The UI is slower than molasses, it took me two days to enter all my titles, and it sometimes forgets them or just gets confused about which disc is where. Most of the buttons on the remote don't work as expected - it's a mess. I will never buy another piece of home AV equipment from them again. That changer was an utter piece of shit, and it was entirely due to bad software. What could they possibly have to lose by opening the firmware?

    Except for video games, it seems that Japan Inc. simply doesn't get it (or doesn't care) when it comes to software. Keep making the great hardware, but let the folks who know best hack on the software.

  67. The *real* power by smoondog · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Dear Steve:

    I just asked Melinda and she said no.

    Your friend,

    Bill

  68. I want to hack Teddy by rizzo · · Score: 2

    Give me a programmable Teddy from the movie A.I. He seems more useful than a robot dog. OK given the fact that his visual and speech recognition capabilities aren't real (commercially anyway). But I'd still take a fuzzy, unassuming bear that people will think is just a stuffed toy and have him suddent sit/stand up and start walking around and looking at people. That would be fun as hell.

    --

    "More organs means more human." - Zim

  69. If you can't beat 'em by Like2Byte · · Score: 1

    join 'em!

  70. Cyberdog: 1, Friend's Leg: 0 by Guru2Newbie · · Score: 0
    I think execution of the "Hump Friend's Leg" macro upon your specific voice command would be quite funny:

    friend: (something obnoxious)

    You: Oh, go screw yourself!

    Aibo (with AutoHump mod): click! Whirrrrr... pad-pad-pad-pad-pad humpahumpahumpahumpahumpa

    friend: WTF is your dog doing?!?! Ewww! Get it offa me!

    Aibo: (clamps extend from paws) humpahumpahumpa(tiny smoke cloud releases from lower flanks)

    you: Hey, guy, looks like you're enJOYing it too!

    Aibo: humpahumpahumpahumpa WOOOOOF!
    recognition of your voice's emphasis on "enJOY" causes Aibo's hidden ear emitter to spurt heated liquid onto friend's crotch for their heightened embarassment)

    friend: I am NOT enjoy...What the...?! That...that..your dog just..your cyberdog just came on...HEY, that WASN'T me!!

    You: Ah-ha-ha-ha!

    You: Wanna see what else it can do?

    friend: No, I gotta go, uhh, wash up.

    Aibo: "All your legs are belong to Aibo, gentlemen."

  71. forget aibo... by mpweasel · · Score: 2, Funny

    Call me when they come up with robotic domo-kuns that I can get to chase my kitty around.

  72. Did you not know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Homosexuality is a sure mark of a "right-extremist"?

    Butt-sex is the only thing that can fully explain the goose step, surely?

  73. Re:moof by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    please die eurotrash

  74. Re:This is a subject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is a quote which I have forgot to italicize

    <br>
    Those were the tags you can see because I'm posting in the wrong mode.<br>
    <br>
    --<br>
    this is a sig that will be repeated because I'm a moron<br>
    --<br>
    this is a sig that has been repeated because I'm a moron<br>

  75. Who'd buy a dog that they couldn't train??? by Zspdude · · Score: 2

    Need I say more?

    --
    What's in a Sig?
  76. Meow by Traa · · Score: 3, Funny

    Alternative way to make your Aibo meow is to toss it in the freezer for a while and then run it through the circle saw....MEEEEOOWWWWWWWwwww

  77. Hmm by uberstool · · Score: 1

    If you can afford an Aibo why don't you get a maid?

  78. Get a real dog by onesandzeros · · Score: 1

    Hello folks,
    I wrote it the last time there was a story about Aibo, and I'll write it again. Go to the humane society and get a real dog. Try teaching a real dog real tricks. Won't feedback from a real dog be better than something like:

    files_arrays.cpp: In function `int main()':
    files_arrays.cpp:55: no matching function for call to `ifstream::open (string &)'
    /usr/include/g++/fstream.h:67: candidates are: void ifstream::open(const char *, int = ios::in, int = 436)

    Just a thought,
    Chris

    1. Re:Get a real dog by Quill_28 · · Score: 1

      >I wrote it the last time there was a story about >Aibo, and I'll write it again. Go to the humane >society and get a real dog. Try teaching a
      >real dog real tricks. Won't feedback from a real >dog be better than something like:

      >files_arrays.cpp: In function `int main()':

      No. I think you are missing the point. I would hope no one would buy an Aibo to replace a dog. Maybe one day but not right now. People buy Aibo to enjoy(i.e. entertainment) and because it is a Robot!
      Primitive yes but a robot still.

      This thing is much closer to the box on your desk than a real dog.

      Bill

    2. Re:Get a real dog by onesandzeros · · Score: 1

      I love posts that start out with 'no.' They're second only to ones that start with 'wrong.' They're the best. Unless you were answering the (rhetorical) question about dog feedback being better than g++ feedback, although I don't think you were. Either way, my point stands. Get a real dog, cat, etc. I wasn't implying that someone would replace a pet (s)he already has, if that's actually what you meant. But I do think that someone might buy this instead of a real one. I was told in a reply to another post that most humane societies have no-kill policies now, but either way, a real pet would be more engaging and a better value for a real human being. Hasn't it been shown that petting an animal lowers one's blood pressure?

      Chris

    3. Re:Get a real dog by Quill_28 · · Score: 1

      >I love posts that start out with 'no.' They're >second only to ones that start with 'wrong.' >They're the best.

      Glad you liked it!

      You asked a question I gave you an answer.

      I don't think a dog's feedback would be better if I was interested in programming a robot.

      I absolutely agree that a real dog/cat/komodo dragon would make a better pet than an AIBO, just watch your fingers around that lizard.

      But I still feel you miss the point on why people are buying these things and why a SDK is exciting some people. It is because they can program a robot, doesn't matter what it looks like. Sony made it look like a dog because it will sell better that way and people can relate to it better.

      BTW, I own a border collie(with bones, fur, and lots of enegry) and have no intention of purchasing a AIBO.

      Bill

  79. human aibo ? by freaker_TuC · · Score: 1


    If I had one I would program it to be human ...
    You don't need a X10 spycam, you just need a Sonybot!

    --
    --- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
  80. Re:I never really understood what Sony's problem w by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would consider it a compliment if someone took my invention/product and did some new inventive things with them.

    I can't ever see myself forking over the dough to buy one of those things, but i'd think that the average Joe would see these "hacks" and think "wow, look at all the cool things an Aibo can do. Sony made a great product"

    Hell, at the very least, it's free (and positive) advertising right?

    Sure, except for the guy who reprograms his to activate an external solenoid and produces the first .44Magnum-packin' Aibo guard dog.
    Sometimes free press isn't worth the price.
  81. Can you program by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it to buy me a delorean?

  82. OPEN-R architecture by carlos_benj · · Score: 1

    Shouldn't that be OPEN-RRRRRRRR ARFchitecture?

    --

    --

    As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.

  83. Now this is great news :) by garglblaster · · Score: 1
    for the Darmstadt Dribbling Dackels !!!, winners of the Robocup german Open

    What else would you expect Germans to teach little Aibo dogs? - Soccer of course!

    The World Championship this year is to be in Fukuoka Japan.

    Have fun!

    --

    perl -e 'printf("%x!\n",49153)'

  84. Straight from the Slashdot headlines... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hackers Use Agile Modeling To Create Empathetic Aibos That Use A Hole In Internet Explorer's Java Engine To Install The Klez Worm, Thereby Violating The DMCA

  85. Ps2-Linux and now this?? by Lispy · · Score: 1

    Looks to me that sony is getting finally that there lies a strength in being open, at least a bit, not to scare the techies away. I really like Sony and recently they are behaving like a big company should. They are innovative, and they are trendsetters in openening their products to the techcommunity. I wonder whats the masterplan (if there is one) behind that strategy...

    cu,
    Lispy

  86. Insightful?? by Lispy · · Score: 1

    oh, yeah...i think ill just stop wondering...this could get scary. ;-)

  87. Some Interesting Links by Jouster · · Score: 2, Interesting
    ... that I found in January when I was researching this for a professor:

    • Site Gutted by Sony based on DMCA
      My Take:
      This site is great. I think this is exactly what we need. The only thing that really got removed per the story referenced below is "virgin" copies of Aibo-Life, because everything you could possibly want, and more, is available, including "RCodePlus", which appears to be a utility for writing and transferring RCode ("Plus" some aibohack.com extensions) to your Aibo.

      Summary:
      http://www.aibohack.com had much of its content removed because it built on Sony's AiboWare, but added new features.
      Among its programs:
      AiboScope: Wirelessly transmits images from robot's camera to a computer
      Disco Aibo: Execute a programmable dance when Aibo hears a certain song.
      Brainbo: Uses voice-recognition. When Aibo hears a phrase, Aibo selects an appropriate response and "says" it.

      Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000086726nov01. story?coll=la-headlines (old)
      http://www.latimes.com/search/lat_all.jsp?Query=Ai bo (new, needs registration)
    • AIBO Uses Copy-Protection on its Memory Sticks
      My Take:
      While it would probably be trivial to overcome Sony's copy-protection algorithms, it's not worth the bother. $35 for a PMS (Programmable Memory Stick) is money well spent, and if all the code consists of is bootstrapping into the WLAN, we'd only need one for each 'bot.

      Summary:
      Sony makes red/pink memory sticks specifically for the Aibo. They contain copy-protection code that means that you can't copy their programs from one stick to another (unless, of course, the second one already had that program installed).

      Source: http://www.aibohack.com/123/format.htm
    • Japan-Only AiboWare Releases
      My Take:
      Nothing new here.

      Summary:
      Sony released several pieces of AiboWare that are only available in Japan. Based on what a friend of mine could manage to decode, there's nothing here to pique our interest.

      Source: http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~hkora11/aibo_2nd-g/kAiboW are.htm (in Japanese)
    • More-or-less Complete 210 Hardware Reference
      My Take:
      Note that the 200Mhz (!) CPU uses the MIPS IV instruction set, for which there are no shortage of compilers. We may be in luck yet! (Of course, we might have to replace the current flash ROM with a custom one to develop that luck, but based on other readings, there seems to be very little code in the flash ROM and a heck of a lot of JPEGs of the development team.) You want to read this page.

      Source: http://www.aibohack.com/210/hardware.htm
    • Brain Surgery: a Tool for Editing AiboLife
      My Take:
      An excellent tool, but not very applicable to our particular challenge. Nonetheless, a useful resource of which to be aware.

      Summary:
      Basically, Brain Surgery allows users to view and edit the data Aibo "feels". What does this mean? You can abuse your Aibo, and fix it yourself--no Sony required.

      Source: http://www.aibohack.com/2or3/browser.htm


    Now, some explanations are in order.

    First of all, the Aibo is programmed in something called "R-Code", part of the "Open-R" standard. The odd thing about this is that Open-R gets licensed to other companies for a fee, and the documentation is not available. Not so sure where the "Open" came from. At any rate, R-Code is a poor imitation of assembly language that is interpreted in real time by the Aibo. Only one program, Sony's Master Studio, is capable of producing R-Code through anything other than editing the R-Code directly.

    One of the interesting things about Sony's marketing strategy is that they intended changes you made to the Aibo to be well-nigh permanent. The idea was to get people to send in their Aibos if they didn't take proper care of the little beasties, charge an exorbitant fee for resetting them to the "newborn" state, and send them back. It apparently surprised Sony quite a bit that, when they released Aibo in the U.S., people started clamoring for a tool to allow them to do these resets themselves. It apparently surprised them even more that U.S. consumers wanted a way to bypass the entire, carefully-scripted AiboLife evolution and go straight to an Aibo adult.

    In general, U.S. owners wanted to hack their Aibos, Japanese owners wanted to watch their Aibos grow.

    On another terribly-interesting note: Brain Surgery allows you to see the internal phonemes for the name you gave your Aibo. This has come in handy at least once when I was trying to determine how I was saying a command incorrectly.

    Jouster
    1. Re:Some Interesting Links by AiboPet · · Score: 2, Informative

      > ... that I found in January when I was researching this for a professor:

      > Site Gutted by Sony based on DMCA

      I'm not sure where you found it, but that is significantly out of date.

      You will see aibopet.com and aibohack.com are running with lots of new content

      Some minor comments:

      > AIBO Uses Copy-Protection on its Memory Sticks
      > My Take:
      > While it would probably be trivial to overcome > Sony's copy-protection algorithms, it's not > > worth the bother. $35 for a PMS (Programmable > Memory Stick) is money well spent...

      Actually it is a rather secure copy-protection mechanism.

      Back doors that were left open in the first AIBO 210 release have been closed. Copy protection is important to Sony.

      You are correct in that most AIBO owners will just buy the memory sticks (since they can afford $1000+ toys)
      > Japan-Only AiboWare Releases
      > Sony released several pieces of AiboWare that are only available in Japan.

      Some of it is junk (IMHO), but some of it is good. Some software teaches your AIBO to play cards. Others are just more active or imaginative personalities.

      Since AIBO understands voice commands, the Japanese sticks must be translated to understand English.

      > More-or-less Complete 210 Hardware Reference
      The problem is not the CPU, but all the custom peripherals.

      > First of all, the Aibo is programmed in something called "R-Code", part of the "Open-R" standard.

      Actually RCODE is a script-like language that YOU can use to program your AIBO.

      Most of Aibo's brain is written in C++.

      > Only one program, Sony [sony.com]'s Master Studio [aibo.com], is capable of producing R-Code through anything other than editing the R-Code directly.

      Check out AbNet (http://www.dogsbodynet.com/aibnet.html) if interested in writing your own RCODE. There are tools to make RCODE easier to write (and more like C/C++)

    2. Re:Some Interesting Links by Jouster · · Score: 1
      I'm not sure where you found it, but that is significantly out of date.
      It was a November news item, and the report I wrote (which I copied, pasted, formatted, and link-verified above) was written in January. Note that I do comment on the seeming lack of removed materials just below that headline.

      Actually it is a rather secure copy-protection mechanism.

      Back doors that were left open in the first AIBO 210 release have been closed. Copy protection is important to Sony.
      Ah. I was working with an ERS-210.

      Since AIBO understands voice commands, the Japanese sticks must be translated to understand English.
      I was under the terribly-odd impression that Japanese sticks couldn't be used in U.S. retail models. Am I perhaps thinking of something that only applies to AiboLife?

      The problem is not the CPU, but all the custom peripherals.
      In our case (we were trying to make a webserver that barks), the electronics between the memory stick slot and the CPU were far more interesting than the rest of the him ("Pheonix", in case you were curious).

      Most of Aibo's brain is written in C++.
      Couldn't comment on that, but what people commonly think of as Aibo's brain--AiboLife--is an R-Code product.

      Check out AbNet (http://www.dogsbodynet.com/aibnet.html) if interested in writing your own RCODE. There are tools to make RCODE easier to write (and more like C/C++)
      They are quite nice tools. It was going to be my summer project to write a cross-compiler for x86 machine code to R-Code. It was going to be terribly hackish, but I thought it would be neat.

      Jouster
  88. Aibohphobia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Aibohphobia- fear of mechanical dogs also a pallendrome!

  89. WOWOWOWOW by Toxxy · · Score: 0, Troll
    "Anyway, the really neat thing is that you can reprogram your Aibo to meow."

    OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG THAT IS SOOOOO KEWL: A $500 YAKBAK WITH LEGS. OMGOMGFAGGOT

    --

  90. Cye can self-recharge, but can Aibo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The cye robot at http://www.personalrobots.com can self-recharge. Could the Aibo be programmed to do this? That would be a big leap forward towards autonomy.

  91. getting there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    not interested in dog, would prefer fab babe who does cleaning and cooking and other interesting things.

    Should comprehend and respond to voice commands. Though given the potential of such a machine, it could motivate people to learn C++ who would not be otherwise motivated.

  92. Re:So, how long till we see a walking web server A by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Had to be said - what about a Beowulf cluster of these puppies (literally)? Or would that be a Beo-wolfpack?

  93. Satire by The+Raven · · Score: 2

    He was doing satire. That's where you take a salient point about a person or thing and make fun of it.

    A 'salient point' about VB is the ads and promotional material that describe how easy it is to create an application using drag and drop. A 'salient point' about C# is that it only compiles to .NET, which Microsoft advertises heavily with web services.

    A one liner joke should not be criticised for not covering the whole issue.

    --
    "I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.