Searching for robot dogs after the Aibo’s end of production I found some nice toys.
The first is called iDog by Sega Toys (the name don’t sound new, reminds something…). It seems more an MP3 gadget than a real dog. According to the video I saw (see link at the end of post), it moves only head, ears and tail, but it follows the music with blinkin leds on the head.
This little robot react to music. More, it has a speaker inside and a little 3.5mm jack connection so you can plug it into a MP3 or CD players and of course the iPod. If you turn the music off the iDog complais and barks (could be a little annoying). About $50.
More interesting is the i-Cybie (by Silverlit from Honk-Kong) that is a real robot pet similar to Aibo (less powerful but cheaper: official price is $199, can buy for less).
It can respond to sound, touch, voice commands and its own remote control but don’t let that fool you i-Cybie has a fun repertoire of tricks it can perform, including telling you when his batteries are running low & also has a walk up charger to power itself .
i-Cybie moves and has many sensor:

• Motion sensors allow i-Cybie to detect movement around him. These are used when you place him in Guard mode.
• Obstacle sensors are used to navigate your home and avoid bumping into things.
• With the touch sensor on his back you can pet him and he’ll react to your touch.
• Sound sensors let i-Cybie respond to your voice commands or to clap commands.
• Tilt sensors let him know when he has fallen down.
• Light sensors let him detect changes in ambient light in your room.

Last, i-Cybie can interact with other i-Cybie’s using it’s built-in IR communicator, as long as the other dog is within 3 feet of him. I ask what kind of info they can exchange. My conspiracy oriented mind can imagine many interesting situations.

Ok. I’m searching for other pet robots. Stay tuned.

Links:
iDog (eDog in Europe) video.
i-Cybie official site and fan site.

Following the Sony Corporation FY05 3Q announcement, the production of AIBO Entertainment Robots will be discontinued as of end March 2006.

Long live, Aibo…

PS: non te l’ho mai detto, ma a un certo punto avevo voglia di comprartelo. Poi ho pensato che, se avessi saputo il prezzo, me ne avresti detto di tutti i colori. Con il senno di poi, sarebbe stato meglio comprarlo: oggi si vende a molto di più. Arriva fino a $ 6000.

You can say it’s stupid and absurdly expensive (last price was $1599) but has been the first serious attempt to build a real robot pet for the rest of us. Aibo, the Sony robot dog, dies in 2006 leaving thousands specimen moving around searching for spare parts and software upgrades without the hope to see a new generation.
You can say I’m strange, but I’m sad. After all, Aibo idea comes from the Golem’s dream, a dream that is part of the human race from ever and ever: creating life from lifeless, becoming God.
Someone say Aibo means nothing simply because a real dog can make the work much better, but imho it’s not true. We can’t live without impossible dreams and when a dream dies we all lose something.
Aibo is not a dog and don’t want to mimic a dog. It’s an hybrid, a new species that moves a little like a dog, but can say some word and sometimes sing. And I can love it like a real dog.
Moreover with Aibo you can say strange things like “Enough! Turn off the dog and go sleep!” or “Wake up, go walking, turn on the dog”.

Long live, Aibo…