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More Sony AIBOs On the Way
An anonymous reader wrote in to say that Sony is gonna release
10,000 more AIBOs onto the world.
Orders will be taken early next month. No available in Black or Silver with some other subtle changes and huge pricetag. Someone at Sony needs to send me a demo model dammit! I have one of the originals, these things are crazy: they actually age and mature like those tamagotchi things that were so popular awhile back. Course Hemos keeps punishing mine for no reason so I think mine is mentally stunted from having an abused childhood.
do you think running linux on these things we could get them to do coordinated things like syncronized swimming, rockette AIBO's and such?
I'd just be impressed if it can chase it's tail, get the paper and pee on the rug, just like a real dog....
-Dan
Hemos keeps punishing mine for no reason so I think mine is mentally stunted from having an abused childhood.
For some reason, reading that sent my mind onto a semi-offtopic tangent, and it resulted in an interesting question. At what point can we consider it "abuse" to torture a machine? The Aibo, for example, can learn and adapt and is a (very very small) step towards intelligent home electronics. In 5, 10, or 20 more years we'll probably have computers and robotic pets/assistants with at least passable intelligence. If it's illegal to torture a dog, should it also be illegal to torture a piece of electronics as intelligent as a dog? Could we live to see a day when people could get prison terms for kicking their computers? Will it one day be considered murder to turn your gaming rig off? Will euthanasia be permitted for Windows machines?
I dunno, but it seems like an interesting conversational piece, and one I've never seen seriously discussed before. What do you guys think? Will computers ever have rights? Should computers ever have rights?
There is nothing so pathetic as seeing a beautiful young theory roughed up by a tough gang of facts.
Personally, what _I_ want to get, is one of those Heathkit things from years ago. The ones with the arm on them. Forget the name now, but they were SO cool. (and a HELL of a lot less expensive).
Unless I miss my guess, this might even be enough to use "micro rocket thrusters" (forget the link now...) or similar (or a helium baloon!) and have a *FLYING* robot. Sorry, but the sci-fi-style flying black observer drones look SO much cooler.
Oh, the things I could do with $2500...
And of course, a homebuilt robot would run on opensource (not necessarily 100% on Linux, because of the multi-embedded-microcontrol systems in it, but developed on Linux certainly and maybe even with Linux on the main chip ;) Put a couple Crystal DSPs and an Intermetal MP3 decoder chip in it, mount a camera, and you would have yerself a robot to be proud of...
They way the industry is right now, you'd think they'd offer transculent Aibo's in 5 various (but sickly) colors. I really would like to see those gears a'turnin.
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I've never truly understood the appeal of AIBOs, tamagotchis(sp?) and the like. A friend of mine had one of the latter that she carried everywhere and, quite frankly, I found its incessant beeping more irritating than a cellphone going off in the middle of a conversation. At least a cellphone is (hopefully) doing something important.
Admittedly, I've never personally used/tried/whatevered an AIBO, but from what I understand about them it just isn't clear to me why anyone would want to spend money on something like that. Then it occured to me that perhaps the appeal in these "electronic companions" was in their simulated companionship. Sure, they can be a nuisance. But then again, so can normal friends/companions!
Perhaps that's where the appeal generated by these things is coming from, perhaps not. Just my 2 * 10^-2 dollars worth.
CPU 64-bit RISC processor
Main Memory 16MB
Program Memory 8MB Memory Stick(TM) (accessory)
Moving Parts Mouth: 1 degree-of-freedom Head: 3 degrees-of-freedom Legs: 3 degrees-of-freedom(x 4) Tail: 2 degrees-of-freedom Total: 18
Video Input 180,000 pixel color CCD camera (x 1) Head
Audio Input Stereo microphone(one on each side) Head
Internal Audio Output Speaker (x 1)Head
Sensors Heat Detector Heat sensor (x 2) Torso Range Finder Infra-red range finding sensor (x 1)Head
Acceleration Detector Spatial acceleration sensor (x 1) Torso
Rotation Detector Angular velocity sensor (x 1) Torso
Contact Detectors Touch sensor (x 1), switch (x4)Head, Legs
Power Source DC7.2V (Lithium ion battery)
Power Consumption 12.6W (autonomous mode)
Operating Time Approx. 1.5 hours (using fully charged battery)
Dimensions l x w x h Approx. 274 x 156 x 266mm (not including tail)
Weight About 1.4kg (body only) About 1.6kg (Including Memory Stick media and battery)
(ERF-511) "AIBO Performer Kit" Main Features
Motion Editing Functions 1) Exchange of motions (3 Types) 2) Editing of motions 3) Creation of original motions
Simulation Functions 1) Ensure compliance with angular limitations of limbs 2) Confirm non-collision of moving parts 3) Check speed of moving parts
Others Timeline editing function, Memory Stick data check, etc.
-------------------------------------- (ERF-511) "AIBO Performer Kit" System Requirements
Computing Platform IBM PC/AT compatible or NEC PC98-NX Series
CPU Pentium®200Mhz equivalent or above
OS Windows®95 or Windows®98
Memory 32MB or greater
PC Card Slot Type II PC card
Display Mode 800x600 resolution or greater
Display Color Capability 16-bit High color or greater
Other CD-ROM drive (for Installation)
Available in Japanese, English, French, and German
Is still to aquire a good half dozen to a dozen aibo and program them to hunt as a pack and defend my territory. Now THAT would rule.
BBC has interesting article on Sony and the AI in the dogs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacifi c/newsid_485000/485832.stm
BBC article on the recent robot show:
...But the star of the show was probably the robot cat - called the Mental Commit Robot.
There has already been a very popular robot dog.
The cat responds with a purr when it is stroked and will not scratch or bite.
Just what I need... An electronic dog, cat, and mouse racing around my house.
Hmmm... It is hard to tell from the pictures. I think a brushed ebony would look really cool. If it is a glossy/reflective black, then I would probably agree. When I first saw these I though a brushed stainless steel or aluminum would look best.
Then you have the RMSiatchi... it doesn't need to be fed. Instead it harvests the collective IQ of computer geeks everywhere and syntesizes food out of ambient light. Unfortunately it won't stop beeping at you and insisting that "I'm not open source, I'm FREE I tell you! FREEeeeeeeee!" It may also occasionally bust a beat and start singing.
Lastly you have Robiatchi. It likes to drink beer. Lots of beer. Then it writes funny symbols across the screen. Half the time it writes them really slow, and half the time really fast. Sometimes Robiatchi becomes non-responsive for several minutes. Don't worry though - it's growing quickly and will get out of this mode. Someday.
=)
--
And on a slightly related topic, did anyone see the bipedal robot that Honda spent billions developing a few years back? It's amazing. It can navigate around any normal environment (a house or apartment) and can also climb up and down stairs.
It was almost a little eery seeing it doing that in its approximation of human form.
Maybe I should get a Honda robot, and get IT an AIBO? :-)
If no you haven't see the Honda robot, here is a little blurb on it:
http://www.poli.studenti.to.it/~s76133/robotica/hh ri.htm
And what's with this Sony naming convention? AIBO? VAIO? What does it all mean?
Ignore Alien Orders
I find that the re-release of the AIBO is something that I am looking forward to. It is a viable alternative to a pet. It doesn't have as high of a maintenance(you may joke about it leaving oil spots, but luckily they don't), it costs less than a pet will over time(b/c of food/vet bills vs. battery recharges+initial cost) heck I would have to pay 100 a month more to get a real pet to keep in my apartment... that is 1200 for a single year. If only I could afford an AIBO... perhaps I can talk to my father, he works for Sony.
Slobber: you have to make some slobber shoot out of the CCD camera hole. Something a little big filtheir than drinking water and make sure it gets everywhere. I recommend making it suck and shoot toilet water as it is almost as germ ridden as dog saliva.
Loud incessant annoying barking: these things are too quiet. It makes a rabbit seem loud. Make it bark at neighbors, family, other pets, and sometimes nothing at all.
Poop instinct: I know it won't produce poop, but you could at least make it search out the poop of other animals and then roll in it when it finds it.
Dig: Being a robotic dog, it should bury your needed electronics. Things like keyboards, remotes, backup tapes, laptops, etc.
Staring: Bored dogs love to stare at crap, sometimes ever your neighbors. Why not let it broadcast its CCD output to TV channel 4 so I can watch that cute blonde. "Oh hi little dog!"
Smell: Personaly I can't believe you guys are making much effort without even trying to make it fart. Show me a dog that doesn't fart and I'll show you roadkill.
Chew: I know it doesn't have a mouth but you could at least make a garbage disposal interface so he can drop stuff in there.
Jealousy Instinct: It would be kinda cute to watch it try to kill your children.
Mating: Just as cute to watch it mount the toaster.
Anti-Mailman program: except make my AIBO shoot mace at HIM.
If you follow my suggestions you'll have either an incredible best-seller or a few thousand terrible lawsuits.