Pop Japan

Way back to 1990s, Sony released a robotic dog named Aibo, It turned out to be popular as the robot entertained guests, children and adults. Now, the electronics giant revived its robot with the new Sony Aibo Robot Dog or the ERS-1000 akin to the beagle. The robotic man's best friend is built to mimic the biological dog by sitting and following commands. Telling Aibo " bang bang" would send the robot puppy playing dead by laying down. For its technical features:

1-to 2 axis actuators that allow the robodog.
Expresses emotions
2 OLEDs for eyes that display blinking and pupil dilations.
Can actively seek out the owner
Detect smiles, words of praise, back and head scratches and petting.
Inbuilt sensors to analyze and detect images and sounds.
Collect data and interactions
Follow commands such as sit.
Cameras on its lower back and nose to avoid obstacles.
Able to go back its charging port.
Saves experiential data to bond with the owner and build memories.
An app to teach tricks for the robot.

The robot has pros such as its charming lifelike movements and expressions. ON the other hand, the cons include: the robot walks clunky and its expensive price tag at $3000 USD. The robot pet comes with it an accessory such as a toy bone, a cradle and a box for packaging. For privacy concerns, Sony told that the new Aibo is not a privacy risk since it only records interactions with the owners to learn.

Photo by ETC-USC

Under license by Creative Commons

Tags: japanese inventions, robotic dogs, virtual pets, toy animals, sony robots, sony, animatronic robots, aibo, robots