New Version of Sony's AIBO Robot Dog Released

Cave_Monster writes "Sony has unveiled a new version of its canine robot AIBO which, unlike your average puppy, can talk and keep a diary but which still needs love and attention. Sony starts taking orders Thursday, with a price tag of 194,250 yen (US $2,263.40) in Japan including a five-per cent sales tax. Now that's one expensive toy!"

Comments

AIBO can now blog

[eganloo]

One factoid not mentioned in the linked article is that the new AIBO can blog.

Yes, blog. In addition to "talking" and keeping a "diary" of its daily routine, it can automatically and wirelessly upload its entries to an public blog website for all to read. (For all Japanese-literate, at least.) As with any blog, the owner and similarly squishy entities can submit comments to AIBO's entries.

http://www.jp.aibo.com/products/ers7m3/aep04.html

Sony actually thought it was necessary to post the following warning:
"* [People] can write comments, but AIBO cannot respond to the comments."

Plus, you can train AIBO with your daily routine by importing your Microsoft Outlook schedule into him/her/soulless thingy. For example, AIBO can dictate today's news headlines as you eat breakfast.

I'll let the concept of an unholy alliance between robotic dogs, blogs, and Microsoft Outlook sink in before the blood-curdling begins.

Had One

[Comatose51]

I got one of the first models as part of my "severance package" from my employer. It had belonged to the our remote office where I was an intern. My boss told us if it disappear he wouldn't care. Anyways, I had it and fixed it up. It was somewhat amusing in its ability to track down it's special pink ball. But the thing was really damn slow. I mean it was very apparent that it was a robot in the way it moved. It wasn't fluid at all. But it was an amazing piece of engineering. When I got it the leg was broken. I tried to fix it but it was too hard. Thankfully the it was modular in design. I eventually ordered a new leg for it. The legs, tail, and even the head can come off and be changed.

I showed it to my AI professor once and he told me that Sony sent these out to universities when they first came out so researchers could play with them. Then he showed me the thing that made it so amazing. No matter how you oriented the AIBO, it can always stand upright. If you put it on its side, it will move its legs so it rolls over until its belly is on the ground and then proceed to get up. You can't put it with its back side down because of the head (Sony designed it that way on purpose). Its ability to stand up is probably the most amusing part. Otherwise, it wasn't all the great, IMO. I eventually gave it to boss' kids because I thought it would amuse and inspire them more than it did for me and hopefully one of them would go into AI someday.

Re:Expensive?

[nuOpus]

You know its funny. People with certain financial status think the same of PDAs. I have known 40 year old people who work minimum wage jobs to talk down gadgets such as GPS units, PDAs and yes .. DVD players (they prefer VHS) as being worthless and stupid devices just because of their financial bracket.

If your in a financial bracket obove the people I just described, then buying a PDA is just a usefull device I can replace every year.

This is the same for people who think of these dogs as stupid. They think that because $3000 is a tough chunk of change to just spend on anything and they just dont have it.

For people in the upper income bracket $3000 is something that does not take much effort to save for and things like this are no longer so stupid because they are very much within reach. BTW there are LOTS of people in the upper end bracket I just describe and the sales of aibos have been good. The units have gone through multiple versions and various improvements over the YEARS. And no .. this is not new .. it has been a popular item for a while now.