Sony first got into the robot dog game back in 1999, and this week it makes its return with a new cyborg pup: Aibo. This version of man’s best friend will cost $2,900 and barks and responds to petting just like the real thing.
Aibo is a small dog equipped with AI and 22 joints, including OLED-screens for eyes. When you say “bang bang,” the robot plays dead. You can prompt it to fetch the “bone” that comes with the dog by saying “bring me the bone.” Aibo has cameras and microphones to help it navigate a room in a fashion similar enough to a real hound.
How the robot’s more sophisticated technology will actually interact with the real world won’t be teased out until people start buying the dogs. Aibo is equipped with AI, and Sony claims that the robot pooches will evolve totally distinctly based on their experiences. Whether the world will embrace cyborg canines better than it did in 1999 will be revealed in the coming months.
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