5 ms·

Damn, even years later it's still prohibitively expensive. 198k yen (~2k USD) and 90k yen (~900 USD) lifetime or 2980 yen (~30 USD) per month for the "basic pla

Damn, even years later it's still prohibitively expensive. 198k yen (~2k USD) and 90k yen (~900 USD) lifetime or 2980 yen (~30 USD) per month for the "basic plan" which is required for the AI services.

magissima 9y ago
What in the world is the market for this?
- pg_bot 9y ago
  Robotic pets are often used in therapy for people with dementia. http://www.parorobots.com/ http://www.parorobots.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFvGAL9tesM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFvGAL9tesM
- GuiA 9y ago
  Japanese people who would love to have a dog but can’t because they live in a tiny apartment/would have no time for it.
- unicornporn 9y ago
  Japan, the country where mp3 playing toilets was a huge hit.
- jug 9y ago
  Lonely Japanese people. https://world.wng.org/2017/11/lonely_in_japan https://world.wng.org/2017/11/lonely_in_japan
chaostheory 9y ago
That does seem to be a lot of money for what seems to be just a gadget. However, it's more than that. It's a robot substitute for a dog. The estimated cost of owning a real dog over its lifetime is approximately $27,000 - $42,000. It's hard not to think of Do Androids Dream of Human Sheep when I see Aibo
- mynameisvlad 9y ago
  But it's not, really. At this point it's nowhere near advanced enough to actually replace a dog, and, honestly, I don't think it even replaces 1/10th of a dog, which might justify it's ~$3k lifetime price tag. Don't get me wrong, I want this to succeed. I live in an apartment and work in an office that doesn't allow pets. I want more than anything to have a dog but stop myself because it'd be cruel even with doggy daycare and Rover. A robot dog would be perfect for me. But this is nowhere close to a robot dog.
  - chaostheory 9y ago
    > A robot dog would be perfect for me. But this is nowhere close to a robot dog. It is a robot dog. It is a very imperfect, artificial representation of a dog that doesn't really replace the real thing. It's just cheaper and more convenient than the real thing. If you've ever read Philip K Dick's short story, everyone longs for a real pet as opposed to fake robotic ones. Of course this may change as technology progresses.
- kstrauser 9y ago
  > The estimated cost of owning a real dog over its lifetime is approximately $27,000 - $42,000. Wat? Our dog takes about $30 worth of food per month. Annual vet visits total about $150 (including heartworm meds). If it lives to be 15, we're looking at about a $10,000 lifetime investment. If she got really sick and needed a $5,000 surgery, it'll still be about half the cost of your low end estimate. Also, my dog loves to cuddle. While Aibo can do some things my dog can't, my dog can do many, many things that Aibo never will.
  - pgodzin 9y ago
    What about hiring a dog walker, someone to take care of it when you're away, grooming, training, etc?
    - jlarocco 9y ago
      What about them? Why even own a dog in that case?
TD-Linux 9y ago
The AI services are accessed through a built in LTE modem. So you can't really filter it even if you wanted to.
- dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago
  Wait! This is basically the most important thing to do - you really want to know what what it's sending back to Sony - and without hacking a GSM tower. No, really, who would voluntarily agreed to something like this?!

magissima 9y ago

What in the world is the market for this?

pg_bot 9y ago
Robotic pets are often used in therapy for people with dementia. http://www.parorobots.com/ http://www.parorobots.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFvGAL9tesM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFvGAL9tesM
GuiA 9y ago
Japanese people who would love to have a dog but can’t because they live in a tiny apartment/would have no time for it.
unicornporn 9y ago
Japan, the country where mp3 playing toilets was a huge hit.
jug 9y ago
Lonely Japanese people. https://world.wng.org/2017/11/lonely_in_japan https://world.wng.org/2017/11/lonely_in_japan

chaostheory 9y ago

That does seem to be a lot of money for what seems to be just a gadget. However, it's more than that. It's a robot substitute for a dog. The estimated cost of owning a real dog over its lifetime is approximately $27,000 - $42,000. It's hard not to think of Do Androids Dream of Human Sheep when I see Aibo

mynameisvlad 9y ago
But it's not, really. At this point it's nowhere near advanced enough to actually replace a dog, and, honestly, I don't think it even replaces 1/10th of a dog, which might justify it's ~$3k lifetime price tag. Don't get me wrong, I want this to succeed. I live in an apartment and work in an office that doesn't allow pets. I want more than anything to have a dog but stop myself because it'd be cruel even with doggy daycare and Rover. A robot dog would be perfect for me. But this is nowhere close to a robot dog.
- chaostheory 9y ago
  > A robot dog would be perfect for me. But this is nowhere close to a robot dog. It is a robot dog. It is a very imperfect, artificial representation of a dog that doesn't really replace the real thing. It's just cheaper and more convenient than the real thing. If you've ever read Philip K Dick's short story, everyone longs for a real pet as opposed to fake robotic ones. Of course this may change as technology progresses.
kstrauser 9y ago
> The estimated cost of owning a real dog over its lifetime is approximately $27,000 - $42,000. Wat? Our dog takes about $30 worth of food per month. Annual vet visits total about $150 (including heartworm meds). If it lives to be 15, we're looking at about a $10,000 lifetime investment. If she got really sick and needed a $5,000 surgery, it'll still be about half the cost of your low end estimate. Also, my dog loves to cuddle. While Aibo can do some things my dog can't, my dog can do many, many things that Aibo never will.
- pgodzin 9y ago
  What about hiring a dog walker, someone to take care of it when you're away, grooming, training, etc?
  - jlarocco 9y ago
    What about them? Why even own a dog in that case?

TD-Linux 9y ago

The AI services are accessed through a built in LTE modem. So you can't really filter it even if you wanted to.

dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago
Wait! This is basically the most important thing to do - you really want to know what what it's sending back to Sony - and without hacking a GSM tower. No, really, who would voluntarily agreed to something like this?!