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Feral Robot Dogs

stinkypig sent in a blurb about Feral Robot Dogs, assorted modifications of the commercial AIBO dogs to be "more useful". For various definitions of useful. See also a discussion on smartmobs.com.

136 comments

  1. Did any one else read by rob-fu · · Score: 0, Troll

    fecal robot dogs? Immediately, I thought they taught AIBO how to poop. Leave it to Sony to make a great product...

  2. Yes! by Spazholio · · Score: 2, Funny

    My dreams of one day owning a real-live (sorta) Dyno-Mutt are closer to fruition!

  3. useful? by zenintrude · · Score: 5, Insightful

    still not usefulful enough to warrent the $1400 price tags...

    --
    - colin
    1. Re:useful? by Angry+White+Guy · · Score: 1

      Not only that, if you do anything really useful, Sony sues your ass because you reverse-engineered their dog's bios. Been on /. before.

      --
      You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
    2. Re:useful? by Chris_Stankowitz · · Score: 2, Insightful
      till not usefulful enough to warrent the $1400 price tags.

      I'll have to disagree with you there. $1400 isn't much at all if this tecnology works the way they would like it to. I think you should reserve your griping about cost when the project is over with. That price seems highly conservative IMO. That is much less than what it takes to train and support a Real dog. However, replacing real dogs is not something I see happening anytime soon.

    3. Re:useful? by magullo · · Score: 2, Informative
    4. Re:useful? by beaverfever · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I agree about the price - my first thought when reading this was 'who would pay for this?'

      My second thought was 'why use robot dogs to check for pollutants? Why not just have a person walk around with sensors on a stick? If someone thought the area was really toxic, so toxic that a person couldn't safely be in the area (but for some reason a school was going to be built there), then why not just use a radio controlled car and save $1350 per unit?

      I do believe that nerds have a tendency to let the 'gee-whiz' get in the way of common sense sometimes.

      Oh, but wait - I forgot this point - this idea is to "create a local mediagenic event" and "enable and change typical lay-expert communication patterns, by raising the standards of evidence, or at least changing who produces this evidence". So, if I'm Mr. Burns and I find these things crawling around on the land around my powerplant, what's stopping me from sending Smithers out to pick them up and throw them in the lake?

    5. Re:useful? by FilterBob · · Score: 1

      I've spent more than that on a cat who contracted cancer.

      What scares me more than the technology is the thought of people forming the same kinds of emotional bonds with machines as we already do with living pets. ...and now I'm not so sure I shouldn't already be scared by the idea of forming emotional bonds with non-humans even if they *are* living beings.

      But the cool part is at least it made me think about stuff that hadn't occurred to me before.

    6. Re:useful? by po8 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So, if I'm Mr. Burns and I find these things crawling around on the land around my powerplant, what's stopping me from sending Smithers out to pick them up and throw them in the lake?

      Heh. When my doctoral advisor was at Stanford, Shakey the Robot was there, and always had a crowd of graduate students following it around. My advisor got tired of this, and told the folks running Shakey: "If Shakey wanders into my office, it's not coming out."

      The operators put foil tape in front of my advisor's office door, and a photosensor in the base of Shakey, to guard against this calamity.

      Or so I've been told...

  4. Screw Dyno-Mutt! by torpor · · Score: 0, Funny

    Bring on the Rat Thing!

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    1. Re:Screw Dyno-Mutt! by The+Grassy+Knoll · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Screw Dyno-Mutt!

      I can't wait for Dyno-Pussy!

      (Sorry)

      .

      --
      They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
    2. Re:Screw Dyno-Mutt! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought one would rather screw the Dyno-Pussy...

  5. What's with AIBO and DCMA? by will_die · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Based on this article it would seem that Sony does not people modding thier robot dog. So is that article the latest word or has Sony wisened up?

    1. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by MCS · · Score: 1

      I've heard rumors of a course at my school using the AIBO to teach digital logic-- by letting the (or gorup of)students modify and load there own code into it. Not being able to see the source article right now to go with the start of this thread, I assume they aren't looking at doing anything indepth as make the dog feral, maybe walk in a circle or something... I really don't know as this is all rumor.

      Mind you my school is outside the USA, thus outside the range of the DCMA-- which makes this more possible I guess.

    2. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by Chris_Stankowitz · · Score: 1

      Based on this article [slashdot.org] it would seem that Sony does not people modding thier robot dog. So is that article the latest word or has Sony wisened up?

      I can't think of any corporation that has applied the same rules to Govt. Agencies/Police Depts. as they do the general public. That would be down right foolish.

    3. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by Falkkin · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Check out Tekkotsu -- it's an open-source library for the AIBO, being developed by a bunch of folks at CMU. The "Fearless Leader and Principal Scientist" of the project is Dave Touretzky, whom Slashdotters may remember as the man behind the Gallery of CSS Descramblers and his testimony in the NY DVD trial.

      It once cost a substantial amount of money to buy an AIBO devkit from Sony; I now think they're wising up by opening up the SDK and allowing GPLd libraries like Tekkotsu to exist.

    4. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by linuxelf · · Score: 3, Funny

      > Sony does not people modding thier robot dog.

      Uh, toss me a verb. "does not mind people modding their robot dog?" "does not want people modding their robot dog?" "does not kill people modding their robot dog?"

      --
      - "That's just the kind of fuzzy-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten."
    5. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by magullo · · Score: 2, Informative

      They back tracked

    6. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by blibbleblobble · · Score: 1

      " Based on this article, it would seem that Sony does not [like] people modding their robot dog"

      Do we care? The ones that have been bought aren't Sony's dogs anymore, are they?

    7. Re:What's with AIBO and DCMA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
      Here on Slashdot, you can have it your way!

      "Sony does not _____ people modding their robot dog."
      • order pizza for
      • correct the grammar of
      • brutally murder
      • send flowers to
      • spam
      • metamoderate
      • silently ignore
      • other _______

      Pick whatever you like!
  6. NEW WORDS by Boss,+Pointy+Haired · · Score: 2, Informative

    Feral.

    6 entries found for Feral @ www.dictionary.com

    feral ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fîrl, fr-)
    adj.

    Existing in a wild or untamed state.
    Having returned to an untamed state from domestication.
    Of or suggestive of a wild animal; savage: a feral grin.

    1. Re:NEW WORDS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. If you want a feral robot, simply blank its set of learned behavioral rules. Then it will have to be domesticated all over again. (I wish the site wasn't Slashdotted, so I could see if this was what they meant by it.)

    2. Re:NEW WORDS by Ed_Moyse · · Score: 1
      What do you mean "NEW WORDS"?


      Am I missing something here?

  7. Opps! by saintan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well I botched that one...shoulda used the preview button I guess... should have read: Do Paraniod Androids Dream Of Electric [Feral Dogs] ? read this sequel to Phillip K. Dick's masterpiece novel...in store's now! i guess i lost that funny mod!

    --
    ****--- A fortune cookie once told me the meaning of life...so I ate it. ---****
    1. Re:Opps! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, I don't think Marvin dreams much about anything; just too busy being depressed.

  8. free nanobots by effer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Since I first heard of nanotechnology, a logical use seemed to be using it to create landfill miners.
    Small robotic devices sent into most landfills could harvest bost the useful and the harmful substances from them.
    This "robodog" mod is an excellent first step towards this. Well intentioned, but likely doomed to
    the humour or "wierd news" fold.
    I look forward to following it.

    1. Re:free nanobots by bluGill · · Score: 2, Informative

      Have you payed attendtion to recyceling costs? Most curbside recyceling programs are lossing money because resources are not worth the effort to collect. In theory we can mine landfills, and I expect in the future we will. Today Almost nothing is worth the cost extract it.

    2. Re:free nanobots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The answer is gassification, not robots. A few years ago I looked into the feasability of gassifying hyperacumulating plants for the purpose of phytoremediation of soil. (grow plants that suck harmfull metals out of soil and then gassify the plants) We started looking into gassifying things with a plasma arch torch. The system should break even once everything is built and operation begings. materials are reduced to a fraction of their previous volume and we're left with slag that looks and feels a lot like ignious rock. This slag can be used for the construcion of roads and stuff and you don't have to worry about harmfull chemicals like lead entering the soil.

    3. Re:free nanobots by matrix29 · · Score: 1

      The answer is gasification, not robots. A few years ago I looked into the feasibility of gasifying hyperacumulating plants for the purpose of phytoremediation of soil. (grow plants that suck harmful metals out of soil and then gasify the plants) We started looking into gasifying things with a plasma arch torch. The system should break even once everything is built and operation begins. materials are reduced to a fraction of their previous volume and we're left with slag that looks and feels a lot like igneous rock. This slag can be used for the construction of roads and stuff and you don't have to worry about harmful chemicals like lead entering the soil.

      Uh, you do realize that vaporizing an elemental metal tends to make it airborne? Worse contamination will come from lead fumes over the lead currently in the soil. Toss in some other nasty metals and I see a community made toxic very quickly. If you could chemically react some of the substances into less harmful compounds then perhaps the payoff would be better, but the best payoff would be reclaiming those elements in pure form for chemical and industrial resale later without dumping them back into asphalt. Just plain vaporization just spreads the contamination further out to everyone very quickly.

      --
      "Face it, a nation that maintains a 72% approval rating on George W. Bush is a nation with a very loose grip on reality.
    4. Re:free nanobots by davburns · · Score: 1

      You wouldn't need nanobots to do this. Macro-bots could do just as well. This would be especially interesting if the macro-bots knew what pieces they themselves were made from, and could collect those pieces and replicate themselves.

  9. Well yeah by TheFr00n · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... It's about time someone did something useful with these things.

    A local newsagent is selling a series of these horrid mags with a bit of a robot on the cover, collect them all and build it, sort of a thing. I can just imagine how proud I'd be to watch my lad's robot savage the postie ...

    --
    "By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings."
    1. Re:Well yeah by ravenwolff · · Score: 1

      "Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe, or a sword?"
      "Because it's dull, you idiot - it'll hurt more."


      Something vexes thee?

    2. Re:Well yeah by TheFr00n · · Score: 1

      It's that damned Robin of Loxeley! :)

      --
      "By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings."
    3. Re:Well yeah by xaaronx · · Score: 0

      "Because it's dull, you idiot - it'll hurt more."

      I believe the word used is "twit", not "idiot". I'm about 97% sure.

      --
      It's amazing how much "mature wisdom" resembles being too tired. - Robert Anson Heinlein
    4. Re:Well yeah by Equinox · · Score: 1

      You're right...oddly enough, this very quote popped into my head earlier this evening. I know, should be working...

  10. What department is this? by NETHED · · Score: 3, Funny

    eating-steaks-that-grow-on-trees dept?? Comon Micheal, We know its early but this title is ++ungood.

    --
    --sig fault--
    1. Re:What department is this? by amcguinn · · Score: 1

      A Snow Crash reference, methinks.

    2. Re:What department is this? by FreeUser · · Score: 4, Informative

      eating-steaks-that-grow-on-trees dept?? Comon Micheal, We know its early but this title is ++ungood.

      It is a sci-fi reference to a cybernetically enhanced attack dog. Snowcrash (?) I think. One of those cyberpunkesque novels, where the dog lived much of his life in a virtual state, eating steaks that grew on trees. Rather clever, though clearly an insider reference.

      --
      The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
    3. Re:What department is this? by coldcity · · Score: 3, Informative
      From http://www.wiu.edu/users/mucs14/SnowCrash.html:

      EXCERPT FROM SNOW CRASH:
      "They'll catch up," NG says. "On a straightaway, they can run at seven hundred miles per hour."
      "Is it true they have nuke stuff inside of them?"
      "Radiothermal isotopes."
      "What happens if one gets busted open? Everyone gets all mutated?"
      "If you ever find yourself in the presence of a destructive force powerful enough to decapsulate those isotopes," Ng says, "radiation sickness will be the least of your worries."

      The conversation continues between Y.T. and Ng with Y.T. expressing concern over the manner in which these dogs' biomatter has been munipulated to include mechanical enhancesments and many destructive devices. She finds it cruel. Ng explains to her that these "mechanically assisted organisms" are the result of abandoned dogs taken in and sent to what amounts to as "dog heaven." [They are] "Chasing frisbees through the surf. Forever. Eating steaks that grow on trees. [and] Lying beside the fire in a hunting lodge."
      So there y'go :)
      --
      coldcity
      code, life, art
    4. Re:What department is this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot the part about where YT asks/suggests that they be allowed to lick their virtual balls.

      Of course, the rat-things are one of my favorite Snow Crash bits... that and the Deliverator intro.

    5. Re:What department is this? by xaaronx · · Score: 0

      Very clever, but on Slashdot I don't think it's really an insider reference. At least 70-80% of slashdot readers have read Snowcrash*, probably more.

      *90% of all statistics are made up, definitely including this one, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was true.

      --
      It's amazing how much "mature wisdom" resembles being too tired. - Robert Anson Heinlein
  11. Feral NanoDogs by frostman · · Score: 1, Funny

    Now we need some feral NanoDogs!

    Of course, the waste may be hazardous... or at least nanosmelly. I definitely want a pack of NanoDobermans protecting me from the other nanobots.

    hmmm, I feel a rock band coming on...

    --

    This Like That - fun with words!

    1. Re:Feral NanoDogs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0



      hmmm, I feel a rock band coming on...


      is it 3 nanodog night?

  12. Legal issues around feral robots by maharg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm just wondering the about the legal issues surrounding the release of a 'feral' robot..

    When you release your feral robot to freely wander about, would you have any legal right of ownership over it, if, say, someone else took it into their own possession ?

    On the converse, could you be held responsible for it's actions ?

    Are there any legal precendents around for any of this stuff ?

    --

    $ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
    @(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
    1. Re:Legal issues around feral robots by Khakionion · · Score: 1

      Hmm...Good point. That idea could get even hairier (if and) when Honda's ASIMO gets genitalia and unfriendly prime directives: 1. Kill. 2. Rape. 3. Dismember. 4. Repeat. 5. ??? 6. Profit!! I smell a movie deal...

      --
      OMG! Wau!
    2. Re:Legal issues around feral robots by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

      Let's see...you bought a robot. You now own it. You let it wander about...the fact that you may or may not have reprogrammed it is irrelevant because you're still responsible for it. You would be completely responsible for any damage it causes.

      How is that any different than putting a crowbar in my John Deere's steering wheel and letting it loose on my neighbor's lawn? Or putting a brick on the gas pedal of my car and letting it roam around the neighborhood?

      Don't let the gee-whiz-brave-new-world-buzz of this thing detach you too far from reality and personal responsibility.

    3. Re:Legal issues around feral robots by maharg · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Let's see...you bought a car. You now own it. You drive it responsibly...the fact that you may or may not have maintained the brakes and tyres is relevant because you're responsible for it. The fact that there are design faults in the brakes and tyres is also relevant. In this scenario you could well be completely absolved of any responsibility for any damage it causes due to the design faults.

      See the problem ?

      If a fault was unintentionally, or even malicously coded into the robot's software, could you be held responsible ?

      The Killer Robot story makes an interesting read..

      How is that any different than putting a crowbar in my John Deere's steering wheel and letting it loose on my neighbor's lawn?
      The difference my friend, is that legal precendents around the use of John Deeres equipment were set long ago....

      --

      $ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
      @(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
    4. Re:Legal issues around feral robots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Let's see...you bought a car. You now own it. You drive it responsibly...the fact that you may or may not have maintained the brakes and tyres is relevant because you're responsible for it.

      True. If you knowing drive an unfit vehicle on the road, you are liable for it. Although, likely, your insurance will pay for the damages, you'll still end up paying more insurance.

      >The fact that there are design faults in the brakes and tyres is also relevant. In this scenario you could well be completely absolved of any responsibility for any damage it causes due to the design faults.

      But someone is still in trouble. In this case, the manufacturer. The only time I can see this getting murky is if the damages occurred the same day the recall was announced.

      >If a fault was unintentionally, or even malicously coded into the robot's software, could you be held responsible ?

      If it were unintentional, you'd need to prove it so, IMHO.

      But I'm an AC, not a lawyer.

    5. Re:Legal issues around feral robots by blibbleblobble · · Score: 1

      "I'm just wondering the about the legal issues surrounding the release of a 'feral' robot.."

      Chilling effects alive and well I see. Stories of cool hacks greeted with "oooohhh. [sucking of breath]... wouldn't that be... somehow illegal?"

      The hacker ethic is dead in maharg. Abandon his soul to the matrix.

  13. laser beams? by bunyip · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about frigging feral robot dogs with frigging laser beams on their heads?

    Yeah baby!

    Alan.

  14. Interesting to see exploration of behaviour.... by Bvardi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Under poop and scoop laws would you have to follow around one of these with an anti-static baggie?

    On a more serious note - it's always interesting to see explorations of behaviour in robotics (since future robots used for autonomous exploration of planetary surfaces and such will likely need different programming than the traditional robot (many of which would actually be closer to teleoperated machines than robots as they rely on human instruction for just about everything.

    It reminds me to some degree of some sci-fi stories exploring AI and von neumann type machines interacting in such a way to create robotic "evolution". Which makes you further wonder - one day could obsolete robots be considered endangered species? (Look over there... it's one of the last VIC-20's left in the wild!)

  15. Spelling! Spelling and Grammar! by Whigh · · Score: 1

    Based on this article [slashdot.org] it would seem that Sony does not people modding thier robot dog.
    First:You need a verb between not and people.
    Second: The correct link is here.
    Third: You've also spelled 'their' wrong.

    Grammar Nazi: +1
    Everyone Else: -1 (Troll)

    1. Re:Spelling! Spelling and Grammar! by c_jonescc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the first point is pretty important.

      I'm still not sure whether he (the original poster) would have used 'mind' or 'want'.

      Two very different meanings.

      --
      Getting diabetes AND salmonella would be a bad weekend.
  16. Not their heads. by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Funny

    You don't put the laser on the robot dogs head.

    You put the laser in the dog's nose.

    1. Re:Not their heads. by ichimunki · · Score: 1

      Last time I checked a dog's nose was part of its head. :)

      --
      I do not have a signature
    2. Re:Not their heads. by wowbagger · · Score: 2, Funny

      You may notice that I compared "on their heads" vs "IN their nose"

      ON vs IN are two very different things.

      As George Carlin said, "You can get ON the plane, I'M going to get IN the plane!"

    3. Re:Not their heads. by hplasm · · Score: 1

      No, No!! Put the laser pointing out of their arsehole. Nobody would be expecting that!!

      --
      ...and he grinned, like a fox eating shit out of a wire brush.
    4. Re:Not their heads. by UrGeek · · Score: 1

      Not in their heads and not in their noses, but in their "non-barking ends". Read the web site! Better to target spectators - at the first and the very dumb ones.

    5. Re:Not their heads. by The_dev0 · · Score: 1

      What, you've never seen Astroboy?

      --
      Never fight naked, unless you're in prison...
  17. Get a real dog by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Cheaper, fuzzier and more affecionate: Humane Society

    1. Re:Get a real dog by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Also, noisier, smellier and more expensive to run.

    2. Re:Get a real dog by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not cheaper, unless you avoid the vet.

  18. So... by cjpez · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... will we be seeing some Stephenson rat things wandering around anytime soon, then?

  19. Yeah but can it?! by mesach · · Score: 1, Funny

    Give me a Back massage with 3-D solid mapping?

    since that other site "contains 'artsy' stuff, and doesn't include technical tidbits."

    I wanna know if I can make it give me back rubs...

    and no I don't want to talk about the implications or the websites and spam that would be sent out!

    "Hot Young Aibo Bestiality Sensual Massage Pics In Your E-mail Everyday!"

    Hmmm maybe theres a Niche Market there somewhere

    1.?
    2.Profit!!!

    --
    moo.
  20. Note from the sysadmin by pemerson · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's a 600MHz Celeron with 60MB RAM. I was surprised I didn't see any smoke when I went to reboot it.
    I just throttled back MaxClients in httpd.conf. You'll be able to get in a little bit easier now, for a little while at least.

    And no, I have no control over the content or the hardware.

  21. Federal? by redfenix · · Score: 1, Funny

    Anyone else read that as "Federal Robot Dogs?"

    Seriously, I was starting to wonder about the airports.

    --
    "It's a very tangled subsystem." --Windows kernel guru
  22. I KNEW IT!! by goldspider · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sam Waterston and I tried to warn you all, but you wouldn't listen!

    --
    "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
  23. Angry Fish by TheSync · · Score: 4, Funny

    In a related vein, I'm working on Angry Fish. In addition to the first fish that cries out in pain, I am working on a school of seven Linux-controlled fish, which will soon be decrying their position in life.

  24. So... by neptuneb1 · · Score: 0

    now I don't even have to be a 7337 AI hAx0r to win RoboCup? Sweet!

    --
    No.
  25. Fahrenheit 451 by JojoLinkyBob · · Score: 1
    In other news, firemen have started using these "robotic dogs" for their own application.

    According to Captain Beatty, "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal...A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it."

    --
    -jc
    1. Re:Fahrenheit 451 by magullo · · Score: 1
  26. Yipes! by Anixamander · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe I should stop reading slashdot. Just when I finally stopped worrying about fake monkey automotans now I have to stress over feral robot dogs.

    Will the madness never end?

    --
    Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball(TM)
  27. What next? by trailerparkcassanova · · Score: 4, Funny

    Programming it to hump the legs of attractive women?

    1. Re:What next? by PhxBlue · · Score: 2, Funny

      Have mercy! Us geeks have enough competition already without creating more!

      --
      !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
  28. Federal Robot Dogs? by A+Guy+From+Ottawa · · Score: 2, Funny

    I read Federal Robot Dogs at first and immediately a picture of Janet Reno popped into my head.

    (shudders)

    --

    using System.Awesome;

  29. New web censorship counter measures.... by Odinson · · Score: 2, Funny
    Bad Dog web server.

    "We have an order to shut down that grotesque web server. Where is it!"

    "In the killer robot... over there. I forgot the password, you'll have to shut him down manually."

    "Grrrrrrrrrrrr"

    "Nice doggie..."

  30. oh no! by TheNumberSix · · Score: 1
    We know its early but this title is ++ungood.

    Even in jest, using newspeak is bad mojo. Offtopic I know, but it gives me a frowny face to think that anyone would willingly use it.
    --
    Never confuse feeling with thinking.
  31. I'll get a real dog... by zvogt · · Score: 2, Funny

    As long as the tree-hugging hippies don't give
    me any shit when I mod the thing.

  32. Eyes in the back of their WHAT? by RackinFrackin · · Score: 2, Funny

    from smartmobs.com:

    An emblematic feature of the adapted dogs is placement of the webcams in the non-barking end of the dogs

  33. Evolution in action... by magarity · · Score: 3, Funny

    1. Wild dogs evolve
    2. Humans domesticate wild dogs.
    3. Humans create domesticated robotic dogs
    4. Robotic dogs go wild
    5. Wild robotic dogs tame humans???

    1. Re:Evolution in action... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and finally...

      6. Profit!

      Thomas Anonymous

    2. Re:Evolution in action... by unicron · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well..technically you CAN still punt the thing about 50 yards should it give you any lip.

      Or just wait for the explosive collar mod.

      --
      Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
    3. Re:Evolution in action... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      6. Profit!

  34. Obligatory Snow Crash Quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Whats it gonna do? Lick its electric nuts?

    -Y.T., Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

  35. Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    AIBO ate my Baby!

  36. I worked with these at the Florida Film Festival by mistermund · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This project made its debut at the 2003 Florida Film Festival here in Orlando about a month or so ago. I worked on the dogs for a day, helping assemble some of the first prototypes. The dog platform they used was initially a cheap toy (Mega-Byte) that they purchased for about $10. Then, they added particulate sensors which were sensitive to Co2 and other things like gasoline, etc. A new stepper motor assembly replaced the front legs, and a single tail wheel carried the rear. This is the bot you see at the top of the "Smart Mobs" link. The system basically got a variable voltage reading off the particulate sensors, then fed that to a PIC which did a linear variable speed control to the drive motors in the front. Ex: gasoline vapor on the left of the bot would drive the bot forward and to the left.

    Modding a single dog took about 2-3hrs per dog, if you count in the soldering and layout of the PCB and the modification of the dog shell.

    The purpose of the exhibit was to create a mediagenic event around coordinated releases of the dogs. There's a development here in Orlando called Baldwin Park, which has a bit of notoriety around it for being build on the site of an old Army base. They wanted to draw attention to the repurposing of these dogs and the fact that they could be used to make a statement, rather than trying to expose specific polluters, etc

    It was kind of fun working on the dogs, and to see them run. We sent a team out into the field to videotape the dogs in action - supposedly they took it to a Burger King and it just ran into a corner. On a construction work site, one dog caught a whiff of a truck and went rolling after it. ;^)

    We had fun working on the dogs, but weren't able to spend much time discussion the potential for this kind of renegade modding - in that sense I was a bit disappointed. But the whole sense of modding these dogs is what Slashdot is all about! Unfortunately, they don't run Linux yet...

  37. Feral Robot Dog? by miguel_at_menino.com · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Feral Robot Dog? I had a girlfriend like that once...

    1. Re:Feral Robot Dog? by BobTheBooser · · Score: 1

      you had a girlfriend???

  38. I thought the title was... by winkydink · · Score: 1

    Do Feral Dogs Herd Electric Sheep?

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    1. Re:I thought the title was... by Lazyhound · · Score: 1

      No, feral dogs eat electric sheep.

      And then promptly die from electrocution.

  39. New AIBO Bumper Sticker? by Navius+Eurisko · · Score: 1

    "My AIBO can kill and consume for materials your AIBO."

  40. Robot Feral Dogs, Sam Waterson, and Old Glory by EchelonZero · · Score: 1

    Here's a link to the aforementioned SNL sketch:

    Old Glory Insurance

  41. Damn, man.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...I can imagine that some people at DARPA (of course they read Slashdot) are creaming in their jeans over this - unless they are working on versions of it already. I can imagine that some other three letter agencies are thinking of both applications and threats from devices of these kinds. I bet that the number of U.S. tax dollars spend on this is more than Sony spends on Aibo - unless Sony is a DoD contractor, too.

  42. Ng Security Industries number 6678 by jonskerr · · Score: 0

    He lived in a virtual black-and-white world where steaks grow on trees and bloody rawhide frisbees drift by on the breeze, until you catch them.

    --
    O~ Him that studies revenge keeps his own wounds green. -- Francis Bacon
  43. It appears someone has hacked the site.... by iwillrefuse · · Score: 1

    Link to any of the pages....lower left side....you probably don't want to see this.

    1. Re:It appears someone has hacked the site.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your right about that...I couldn't quite work out what it was at first...then i saw it.... /me adds this image to the other dodgy pictures he's seen in the past few weeks and wishes he hasn't

    2. Re:It appears someone has hacked the site.... by Gadgetmeister · · Score: 1

      Didn't see any polyps... ;)

    3. Re:It appears someone has hacked the site.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if inserting html img tags is hacking then you kids need to get back to watching spongebob and leave the thinking to higher evolved organisms like bacteria and amoeba

  44. There's goatse.cx shit on that page. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just a warning for those of us who actually have jobs and are at work checking this shit out. (No pun intended.)

    1. Re:There's goatse.cx shit on that page. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for pointing this out. This warning needs to be shouted much louder!

    2. Re:There's goatse.cx shit on that page. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what the fuck why hasn't the link been edited out, i guess i better start reading replies before i check out the main story. dear god i wish i had never seen that =(

  45. WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT!!! I Visited the website for the robot dogs and I clicked the link "DIY UPGRADES" and on the left side of my screen i swa the most fucking disgusting thing ever. what the fuck is up with the morn that posted that website. oh my god i honestly hope you get shot for posting that.

  46. Real dogs aren't cheaper (but are more fun) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've got an original AIBO. $2500.
    I've got a real dog, with allergies (never buy a dog from a flea market - not that I did, she's second-hand).
    Allergen-free food - $40/bag, lasts about 2 months, expected lifetime 10 years = almost 2500 right there.
    Allergy shots, $300 a year
    Vet, $100/year

    Of course, the real dog is more fun. But only the Aibo is allowed at work.

  47. FRD Rocks!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Feral Robot Dogs - their first album was great, but now their new stuff is too poppy and commercial.

  48. Re:What's with AIBO and DMCA? by matrix29 · · Score: 1

    Based on this article [slashdot.org] it would seem that Sony does not people modding their robot dog. So is that article the latest word or has Sony wizened up?

    At any rate does this mean a whole new propagation of "____ ate my balls websites?"

    My Feral AIBO Ate My Balls

    BTW - Everyone here has figured out that Tweekie from Buck Rogers is the cheaper and less functional version of a sex droid (just as TOMY's "Poochie" is a cheaper and less functional version of Sony's "AIBO").

    --
    "Face it, a nation that maintains a 72% approval rating on George W. Bush is a nation with a very loose grip on reality.
  49. already happens... by allism · · Score: 1

    I know several people who have emotional attachments to their cars that are greater than the attachments they have to the people around them...not to mention that they are nicer to their cars than they are to other people.

    1. Re:already happens... by xaaronx · · Score: 0

      But cats demand our respect in a way people do not. Oh, and the little furball OUCH!!! I mean cutie on my lap says they deserve it.

      --
      It's amazing how much "mature wisdom" resembles being too tired. - Robert Anson Heinlein
    2. Re:already happens... by hesiod · · Score: 1

      That's me, because my car is nicer to me than other people are.

  50. MOD PARENT UP! by nebbian · · Score: 1

    Mod points... you never have them when you need them. I just about pissed myself reading this :-)

  51. robot doggie deathmatch by chrysops · · Score: 1

    so, can we hype these little bastards up and have robot dogfights?

    battlebots meets the dogpit...."hello, UPN..."

    --
    Mike VA
  52. Snow Crash guard dogs by Fiery · · Score: 1
    Pasting content from floating atoll:

    Take an army of the recently-described feral hunting robots . To each robot, add a GPS chip and wireless mesh networking .

    Give the people and dogs smart name tags , and have your dogs exchange your "business card" with the other smart name tags. Publish the FOAF url in it, so you can immediately check for compatibility and give the new information to the dogs.

    Study the discovered FOAF files , each describing individual traits ("attributes").

    Instruct the feral robots to find other people with compatible personalities , but to stay near you. They'll roam around, seeking people whose interests relate to yours.

    For bonus points, add solar panels to generate power as it roams around, and electronic boundaries to keep it in safe areas, away from motor traffic.

  53. What do you call a pack of these things? by weeboo0104 · · Score: 1

    An AIBeOwolf cluster?

    --
    It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass