Sony 'Aibo' sounds its rebirth with a hearty 'wan-wan-wan'

This coming Thursday, after a hiatus of nearly 12 years, Sony's robot canine companion, "Aibo," will be launched in a new upscale version, at a basic sticker price of 198,000 yen.

Buyers are charged an additional monthly maintenance fee of 2,980 yen for the first three years, or a single lump sum payment of 90,000 yen.

Since Aibo's initial release in 1999, Sony sold some 150,000 units. The models had undergone five successive upgrades before production ended in 2006.

Noting that in the Asian zodiac, composed of 12 animals, 2018 is the Year of the Dog, the reporter for Weekly Playboy (Jan 22) asked Sony's Yuhei Yabe if the company had purposely decided to wait until the start of this year to release it.

"Well, no, being Year of the Dog is a complete coincidence," chuckled Yabe. "We began development in early summer of 2016 with a target of launching it during the 2017 business year.

"As development proceeded, it occurred to some staff that it would be great to launch it on a date with several ones in it." (The English word "one" closely resembles wan -- the Japanese word for how dogs bark, and the 11th of every month is wan-wan no hi, dog day.)

"First, Nov 1 of last year was considered, since 11-1 would be catchy," said Yabe. "But as it turned out, we went with 1-11, Jan 11. Only afterward we realized that 2018 would be Year of the Dog."

Likewise 1/11 in Japanese can be pronounced using the auspicious mnemonic wan-wan-wan or bow-wow-wow.

The 2018 version of Aibo, in any event, is a very different animal from its predecessors. Turn on the power, and it swivels its head. Its eyes focus on the nearby person and it appears to show emotion. Product developer Naoya Matsui talked about the challenges of being able to "train" the robot to respond to commands such as "Be quiet!" and "Sit!"

"When you first begin 'raising' it, it doesn't pay much attention. So for example, if it walks up to a vase, you have to scold it by saying dame (no or don't). And when it does something you approve of, then use words of praise. It'll become accustomed to its owner and understand him or her.

"This is only one minor example of how to raise it," Matsui adds. "Aibo's biggest appeal is how it can respond exclusively to their individual owners."

The actuator incorporated into the new Aibo is claimed to be far more sophisticated than that of the previous generation models, which according to Yabe makes it capable of much more animated movements. Matsui said that the design team worked right up to the finish to ensure it could achieve the right balance between weight, center of gravity and motors that operate the various functions.

The robot uses embedded cameras to determine its position, to avoid collisions with solid objects. It also "begs" its master to be "fed" (i.e., a battery charge) which is coupled with Aibo returning automatically to its recharger unit.

Sony has also given Aibo potential to assist its master. It won't attack intruders but if the owner forgets where he left his smartphone, he or she need only ask it, "Do you know where I put my smartphone?" and issuing a series of happy barks Aibo will track it down. Its built-in sensor unit may someday be linked to artificial intelligence to help look after elderly people living alone.

"We can foresee Aibo as a business-to-business product with the potential to be incorporated with services provided by other companies," Yabe predicts. "For us, it's not a finished product -- this is just its beginning. So everybody, please treat it fondly."

The AI in Aibo stands for "artificial intelligence," but in Japanese aibo means a partner or companion. Weekly Playboy agrees it's a neat way to start off the coming Year of the Dog.

© Japan Today