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New AIBO - Meet the ERS-7
ejtttje writes "Sony announced today (also here) the ERS-7, the third generation of the AIBO. New specifications include more computational power, improved sensors, and, last but not least, built-in 802.11b WiFi standard! Additional information from the Japanese Flash promo includes this flash video. (8MB, mirror - sorry, no mpg). Sony will also be releasing a new version of the OPEN-R SDK to continue support of third party AIBO developers. (self plug ;) Pre-orders start October 10, and ship early November, for $1599 (in the US)."
WiFi on the Aibos is nothing new.
We have a few "older" Aibos. They all of pcmcia wireless cards. They don't support wep, but I'm not too worried about somebody sniffing packets while the dogs talk to each other. The funny part is that the pcmcia slot is in the rear of the dogs between the legs. You gotta stick card in the dog's ass. I guess if the wifi is built in, its more humain than the sepository form.
i could not think of anything clever.
On the other hand, how much does it cost to keep a live dog? If it costs $1 a day to feed it, then your AIBO would be cheaper after four years or so. That's not counting pet bills, increased cleaning bills, and replacing chewed valuables...
Not to mention, keeping a flesh-and-blood dog in a city is not very nice for the dog, especially if it is in some tiny house where it cannot be walked every day because everyone's out walking, or because its owner is old and can't get out much or whatever.
Has anyone seriously thought about using AIBOs to detect wireless access points? Why not let them roam freely around a building looking for insecure or unauthorized access points? You could use the camera on the AIBO to take a picture of the location so that a human can investigate the situation later. Heck, could you unleash a pack of them and attempt to triangulate the source of a signal?
I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, the kids were the ones who set the VCRs and kept the family computers going. None of my friends' familes were more capable -- anything technical was handed to the kids "who have no fear, but never seem to break it".
So, some suspicous dad is going to be able to get the AIBO to do things to catch the kids doing something? Maybe once-- likely not after that. Most likely, in my opinion, the parent's going to have to ask the kid to show him/her how to do it the first time, then mess up the next several times. That's a warning to the kid to establish countermeasures.
10-15 years ago, my mother had an alarm system installed, and set an option that would make quiet beeps when a door or window opened. I had a Lego model in my late teens that looked "cute" to my mom, but could be used to bypass the window sensor for their home alarm system. Allowed me to come and go as I pleased.
Now that my first daughter is on the way, I'm already wondering how much trust can ever be established with offspring. I figure I have a decade before that decision needs to be made in ernest.
And if you really really want a joystick, our robotics team hacked joystick support into tekkotsu mon in about 30 min. It turns out that joystick gets annoying when you need the dog to clear a long hallway, and the mouse really is a better input device, but its still an easy modification.
It should be noted that our web page is being updated, and some of the links seem to be going to place holders. Sorry about that.