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New Version of Sony's AIBO Robot Dog Released

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the got-an-allergy-for-every-pedigree dept.

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!"

16 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Aibo link by Mwongozi · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's a link to Sony's own AIBO page, which really should have been in the story.

  2. I for one... by FluffyWithTeeth · · Score: 3, Funny
    I for one welcome our new- er.. newer robo canine overlords!

    And I bet you can install OSX on them...

  3. Price tag by null+etc. · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From TFA:

    The robo-dog may steal owners away from the Tamagotchi virtual pet, which swept the world in the mid-1990s.

    Uhm, yeah. This +$2K puppy will surely steal the market share from a $10 toy!

    1. Re:Price tag by Gatton · · Score: 4, Informative
      Well since the TFA is on an Australian site I'm assuming that's in Aussie dollars. According to xe.com it's only $1,712.06 in US dollars.

      There. Now go run out and buy one!

  4. Expensive? by Jupix · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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!

    Expensive? Bear in mind that most $2k computers go to ten-year-olds and they are also pretty much just toys so that makes them expensive too. Nah, I'd say that $2k for a robot puppy is actually quite reasonably-priced if not a bargain.

    1. Re:Expensive? by nuOpus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      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.

  5. Tamagotchi by gunpowda · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The robo-dog may steal owners away from the Tamagotchi virtual pet, which swept the world in the mid-1990s.

    Did anyone ever play with theirs for longer than 5 minutes? More importantly, what audience is there to 'steal' given that these haven't been on the market for years?

  6. Meaning of AIBO... by zalas · · Score: 5, Informative

    In case anyone's curious, AIBO sounds like aibou, which in Japanese means partner or pal, etc, kind of along the same lines as "best friend" in "man's best friend."

  7. Does it do anything practical? by CyricZ · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Many dog owners keep their dog for practical reasons: for game hunting, as seeing-eye dogs, for companionship, or for protection/security. While these robotic dogs may provide some form of companionship, are they useful for anything else? Or are they just technological curiosities?

    --
    Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
    1. Re:Does it do anything practical? by Brent+Spiner · · Score: 3, Funny

      It can fetch you PI.

      --
      Reality test... am I dreaming?
    2. Re:Does it do anything practical? by CyricZ · · Score: 3, Funny

      Whoa! I just want fellatio from my dog. I don't want my anus to be tentacle raped by him.

      --
      Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
  8. Yeah, sounds freakin' wonderful by Jesus+2.0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "AIBO owners have sometimes asked us what AIBO is feeling like in certain situations as it was not clear. They will be pleased to have this speaking function,"

    Yeah, that's just what I want. Guests over at my house, and all of a sudden out of nowhere comes a fucking robot dog asking me "Why don't you love me? Why don't you love me? Why don't you love me?"

    1. Re:Yeah, sounds freakin' wonderful by Graemee · · Score: 4, Funny

      I suggest flowers and cuddling after sex.

  9. Creepy robots. by Frazbin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "But it also comes with several lives. Owners can skip the maturing process and make AIBO an adult instantly or switch the adult back to a pup to enjoy the growing-up stage." I realize that the AIBO is an extremely simple piece of equipment when compared to even a unicellular organism, but still. People who buy this are looking to impose the "dog" abstraction on it. Sony is trying very hard to make AIBO owners treat it like a real dog. It's a little disturbing that it can be reset with the push of a button. Either the owners are going to be apathetic towards it, since it isn't realistic enough to empathize with, or they're going to be wierded out when their mature "dog" suddenly starts acting like a puppy. I know it'd creep me out.

  10. AIBO can now blog by eganloo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  11. Had One by Comatose51 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    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.

    --
    EvilCON - Made Famous by /.