Sony says next decade the age of the robot

Aibo's creator says its present technology is too dangerous for the robot to be used as a guide dog for the blind

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- The creator of Sony's robot-pet Aibo said on Tuesday his toy would be the companion of the future, but its days as a guide dog for the blind were still far off.

"The 1980s was the decade of the PC, the 90s of the Internet, but I believe the decade just starting will be the decade of the robot," Toshitada Doi, president of Sony Digital Creatures Laboratory, told a news conference.

The upgraded and cheaper version of the Aibo hits store shelves on November 16.

"Reaction so far is very, very, very good," Doi said.

The souped-up successor to the original Aibo dog has an array of new features. It is equipped with a camera in its nose to snap those special moments, it can also better express anger or joy and has a much cheaper price tag -- a sign that Sony is getting serious about the pet robot business.

Doi said he was confident of the popularity of Aibo, which means companion in Japanese.

"Ten years from now, I believe most households will keep two or three personal robots and their performance will increase 100 times. My expectation is that these robots will be able to talk naturally with humans, say about the latest gossip."

Doi stopped short of seeing a future for Aibo as a prototype for utility robots, saying the present technology was too dangerous to be used in designing robots that could guide the blind or provide care to the elderly.

Worries also remain over how the robot will fare in markets outside robot-crazy Japan, which has seen the bulk of sales for the first-generation Aibo.

"In Japan, there is little hesitation when playing with robots, something which I'm not sure of in the U.S. and Europe," he said.

"But whenever we have exhibits there, we always see a strong response, so I do believe the same thing will happen there -- though I think it will take some time," Doi said.

Most of the 45,000 first-generation Aibos sold experimentally over the Internet last year were picked up by Japanese buyers -- and fast. The first batch of the 27-cm tall (11-inch) dog-like robot that can go for walks, chase after a ball and wag its tail sold out within 20 minutes.

Sony said last month it was ready to handle orders of up to 60,000 robots a month for its second-generation Aibo robot-pet, which will carry a price tag of 150,000 yen ($1,397).

The debut version cost 250,000 yen ($2,325).

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Roll Your Own Robot
October 27, 2000
Sony unveils new robotic pet
October 12, 2000
More pet robots on the way
January 26, 2000
Entertainment robot is more 'byte' than bark
May 12, 1999
AmigoBot can be controlled over the Internet
October 11, 2000

Aibo
Sony

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.