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Sony's Robot Dog, Aibo
- notanzaiiswear 5y agoI was just talking about Aibo a couple of days ago, because Huawei announced their CyberDog: https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-cyberdog-robot-dog-141128369.html https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-cyberdog-robot-dog-141128369... I wonder how they will compare. The subscribtion model and cloud connection has so far also stopped me from getting an Aibo. I was reminded of the Vector bot by Anki, and very pleased to see that apparently it was saved from the insolvency of Anki by Digital Dreamlabs. The interesting part: while Vector originally was also cloud based like Aibo, Digital Dreamlabs now offers an "Escape Pod" that makes it possible to use Vector without the cloud (or with your own cloud): https://www.digitaldreamlabs.com/products/escape-pod https://www.digitaldreamlabs.com/products/escape-pod
- whywhywhywhy 5y agoThought Vector was a charming idea but knew it was doomed because of the cloud requirement, glad someone fixed that so they didn't end up as landfill fodder. Good video from NYT about someone doing Aibo repair https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QYDpbLQ-To https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QYDpbLQ-To
- mech422 5y agoAibo is coming back? I haven't seen one in like 20 years ... I thought Sony stopped making them. First released in 1999 [1]! Wow..time flies 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIBO
- rwmj 5y agoOne thing that isn't very clear in the article is she seems to be talking about the reissued Aibo from 2017. Hence all the stuff about neural networks.
- mech422 5y agoyeah - It sounded like she didn't realize how far back the aibo's go.. Though, the original Aibo's were supposed to have some AI and even cloud functions - learned behaviors and online 'journals' and pictures.
- dade_ 5y agoThey had one at the Sony experience center in NYC, so I was able to play with one. Far more advanced than the 20 year old ones. Covered in touch sensors, they are much more lifelike and natural acting than I expected. My favourite was the tricks, you make your hand into a gun and say play dead. And ha, I almost died laughing. Wonderful thing, but it is limited export as it uses a cellular plan in only a handful of countries. It is very expensive, it can’t jump, but I still want one.
- mech422 5y agoheh - they are cute...And after watching mini-cheetahs do backflips, the no jumping thing can seem limited. Supposedly we'll be seeing some chinese mini-cheetah clones soon at around $2k. That would make them quite a bit cheaper then the Aibo, and a potentially more capable hardware platform. Though, seems like the Aibo has the win on the software side.
- blacksmith_tb 5y agoI think the new Xiaomi[1] fits that description? Still a little spendy, but compared to $75K for Boston Dynamics, not quite as far out of reach... 1: https://blog.mi.com/en/2021/08/10/xiaomi-launches-cyberdog-an-open-source-quadruped-robot-companion/ https://blog.mi.com/en/2021/08/10/xiaomi-launches-cyberdog-a...
- mech422 5y agooh wow - $1500 USD ? thats really nice! Hopefully the prices will keep dropping!
- elliekelly 5y agoWhy on earth does it need a cellular plan rather than Wifi?
- Veen 5y agoSo you can take it for a walk?
- ezconnect 5y agoThey are big in Japan, some even have 4 of them in the house and they love them.
- ourcat 5y agoI still have my ERS-220. Given it in lieu of payment for a website I did years ago.
- post_break 5y agoI love how many random things people get in stead of the cash they deserve for web design.
- ourcat 5y agoThe friend/colleague I built it for had been given it for some other unrelated job he had done. So, I asked for it ;)
- danbmil99 5y agoOurs was named Otno. Still around but not operational for the last 10+ years. A really incredible achievement, totally ahead of its time. Not ready to grant Otno true consciousness, but there was certainly a degree of -- intentionality?
- tailspin2019 5y agoThis was a great read.
- jazzyjackson 5y agoThere are some surprisingly well maintained and restored Aibos on eBay from 1999 onward, lots of really neat upgrades. Can anyone comment on the state of running your own code on these machines? I can’t remember if I ever found homebrew tools, or what sdk Sony provides
- ngcazz 5y agoThey were conceived with homebrew software in mind. Back in 2006 I had a uni assignment that involved programming Aibos to play soccer and I vaguely remember there being a relatively high-level FOSS SDK for them - if you didn’t want to use Sony’s C++ libraries (OPEN-R).
- ngcazz 5y agoJust remembered what the SDK was called - Tekkotsu. Here's a paper on it: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.390.1422&rep=rep1&type=pdf https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.39...
- ourcat 5y agoI seem to recall there being some activity around creating certain 'dances' etc. for it to perform. Though I can't remember how "offical" or "open" it was. Knowing Sony's MO at the time, probably not that much. Also, everything had to be stored on the Sony Memory Sticks. (And I seem to remember they too had to be a special type. Not 'Duo' though.)
- jazzyjackson 5y agoWho would you rather fight, one Boston dynamics big dog, or 100 Sony aibos ?
- FartyMcFarter 5y agoPretty sure the Boston dynamics dog can knock me out with a blow to the head. So I'll take my chances with the Aibos.
- lordnacho 5y agoDoes anyone have experience with having one of these robot dogs as a companion to a real dog? Could be useful for keeping the biodog happy.
- dade_ 5y agoI recall watching videos of interactions with dogs. Dogs seem to hate them, then ignore them. It seems they aren’t fooled, but I really enjoyed playing with one.
- rob74 5y agoMakes sense - after all dogs rely mostly on smell to identify other dogs, and the Aibo may look and behave more or less like a real dog, but it definitely doesn't smell like one...
- ctdonath 5y agoI have an original AIBO. Left it on its charger, off, for a prolonged period after getting a real dog. Once the new puppy had acclimated to his new home after a month, I turned AIBO on. O. M. G. New puppy freaked out. So badly I never turned it on again. Imagine how you would react if your chair just started wandering around by itself. Several dogs later, AIBO sits nearby - in want of a functioning battery. Anyone have pointers on finding original AIBO batteries?
- swiley 5y agoI don't know what they're called, but they have dog runs supervised by professionals where you can drop your dog off to socialize. You might consider one of those.
- lordnacho 5y agoDoggy day care is a thing. That's definitely something they enjoy, just wondering if a robodog would be useful.
- mellosouls 5y agoActual title: A dog’s inner life: what a robot pet taught me about consciousness
- leancz 5y agoI submitted it so, it was changed by someone else.
- quirkot 5y agoThe Aibo. Famous for indicating Roast Beef's transition from circumstances to confidence. http://achewood.com/index.php?date=11122004 http://achewood.com/index.php?date=11122004
- jpm_sd 5y agoman why you even got to do a thing
- racl101 5y agoThese things were cute for about 10 minutes (in the year 2000) and then you gotta wonder why you spent all that money.
- thih9 5y ago> we lived in a building that did not permit pets For those in the UK: since January 2021 there are new rules that make it easier to secure leases for people with pets. Also, issuing a blanket ban on pets is no longer allowed. Details: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-standard-tenancy-agreement-to-help-renters-with-well-behaved-pets https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-standard-tenancy-agre...
- jordemort 5y agoI used to desperately want one of these. Now I have a real dog, and I can't imagine a robot one being any fun at all. I also have a house and a yard and a family and a job that lets me stay at home these days, though; a robot dog probably would have fit better into my bachelor lifestyle than a real one.
- abawany 5y agoI have the original (ERS-111) that I bought used - even for as old as primitive it now is, it was remarkably fun for its time and offered entertainment without the complications of an actual dog (vet visits, pet deposits, etc.) Now it sits since the battery pack has died again and I don't want to deal with replacing it but I do miss it.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y agoSuper-Toys Last All Summer Long
- berberous 5y agoThe old ones look much cooler than the new model.
- speed_spread 5y agoAnd yet I still want a Nabaztag.