Sony is bringing back its robot pet brand after about a decade, with a brand new robot dog called AIBO. The model number is ERS-1000 and you will obviously not be able to buy it in India. According to Sony, Aibo “can form an emotional bond with members of the household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion”. The robot can move its body along 22 axes, using ultra-compact actuators. It has two OLED displays used for eyes, which allow it to show a range of expressions. It takes three hours to charge and can last for two hours on each charge.
Furthermore, the company claims that Aibo can adapt behaviour. That is, the dog will seek out its owners and learn what they like. Sony uses deep learning to analyse images and sounds, which Aibo listens to through an array of sensors on its body. The data is sent to the cloud to keep improving Aibo and learn from the experiences various owners present.
There’s also a companion app called My Aibo, which can be used to tweak the dog’s settings. The dog has a camera fitted on it, so you can also see photos it shoots from this app. Lastly, the app allows you to download tricks for Aibo, from its store. That’s probably the easiest way to train a dog how to do tricks. You can subscribe to various services, allowing WiFi and LTE connectivity and backup to the cloud.
Sony is even selling an accessory for Aibo, called “Aibone”. It’s a bone-like accessory for the dog to play with. The robot itself will be sold in Japan from January 11, at a price of 198,000 yen (approx. Rs. 1,12,158).