Sony To Scrap AIBO The Robot Dog

Originally published February 2nd, 2007

Sony broke new ground by introducing AIBO, the robot dog back in 1999. Improvements over the years made the dog extremely lifelike, but as any dog owner will tell you, it can’t compare to the real thing. But, it’s still a little sad to see.

The Mainichi Daily News has a very good feature story on Sony’s Plans To Scrap The AIBO. It points out that:

“Like so many things Sony has made over the years, the Aibo is a niche product. And since Sony is pulling the plug on robot production as part of a major restructuring, so goes the Aibo. That isn’t just disappointing Aibo fans, who bought 150,000 of the toy poodle-sized machines since they were first introduced in 1999 and now worry they won’t be able to get spare parts. It may also have robbed Sony of some of its mystique.”

I would not be surprised to see another company purchase the AIBO and try to take it to another level (Legos, maybe)? Robot dogs are fun (and they eat a lot less!) but we prefer the real thing. Woof!