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Posts with tag aibo

Senior Citizens Like Robo-Dogs As Much As Real Dogs

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Feb 28th 2008 at 6:07PM

Robot Dogs Just as Good as Real Dogs?
Pets (dogs, in particular) have long been used to alleviate feelings of loneliness and depression in nursing home residents. But not robots, at least until now. Researchers in St. Louis, Missouri, conducted a study of 38 senior citizens in a nursing homes. The residents were divided into three groups.... The first group was regularly visited by Sparky, an adorable floppy eared mutt. The second group got to spend time with AIBO, the now discontinued robot dog from Sony, while the third group had no visits from flesh, blood, fur, plastic or gears.

Logic would lead you to believe that the real dog would bring significantly more comfort to each of the residents, and that they would develop a stronger attachment to Sparky. Even the researchers clearly expected this result. Surprisingly, the AIBO was shown to be just as effective at alleviating loneliness and the participants grew just as attached to robotic mutt as they did to the living, breathing version.

As an added bonus, the robotic dogs require much less care and attention than a live animal. So senior citizens who are too physically or mentally frail to properly care for a pet can still obtain some of the benefits of companionship, without the worry of neglecting an animal.

Hey, it might seem kind of strange or funny, but in Japan, much of the bleeding-edge robotic innovation is focused solely on creating "helpers" for the elderly. Who knew it could be done so cheaply with a plastic dog lik AIBO?

From AOL News/Reuters

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AIBO Robo-Dog Coming Back in 2008! Maybe.

by Evan Shamoon, posted Dec 11th 2007 at 9:07AM




From the ashes of the fallen AIBO comes...another AIBO?

The print edition of Stuff magazine is reporting a rumor item that a resuscitated version of Sony's robotic dog companion, to go by the name of Sony AIBO PS, will be released by Sony's PlayStation division in an attempt to "bolster the PS3's arsenal." The next incarnation of Sony's robotic pet will be compatible with the PlayStation 3 and the PSP -- you'll have full control over the dog with your PSP, via Wi-Fi. The dog's head is supposedly equipped with a camera, with which to send a real-time video feed to the PSP's screen.

AIBO PS will allow for either voice control or remote control, and will be able to e-mail you at work when there's something fishy going on. He'll even appear with its own avatar within PlayStation Home, and react in the real world as he does in the PS3's upcoming service.

Still a rumor, but a good one, right?

From Stuff (via Gamespot UK and Engadget).

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The Defense Department's New Robot Dogs

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 27th 2007 at 9:14AM


It's been said that a dog is a man's best friend. It's also been said that one day robots will take over the world and put us all to work doing their bidding. So, it's with conflicted feelings that we report on a new robot dog, one that has the potential to be a little more useful than Sony's dearly departed (and frequently copied) Aibo. This new robo-mutt, called LittleDog, has been developed at American robotics company Boston Dynamics for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA). The hope is that it will someday become a battle-ready companion for soldiers at war.

The dogs, which at this point look something like a boom-box with legs, have been delivered to various top robotics universities around the country, including MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon, for them to develop the best software to control the bots. Each month the universities will send in their latest versions of the software they develop for DARPA scientists to put through its paces, tasking the robot pooches with scampering over obstacles and the like, as shown in the above test video that demonstrates current submissions from Carnegie Mellon and USC.

What exactly the military will do with these dogs remains to be seen, but scouting and recon along with possible supply delivery seem perfectly reasonable. Games of fetch, however, are probably out of the question ... at least until someone grafts a head onto these suckers.

From New Scientist Tech

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The Dog That Speaks French, Sort Of...

by Evan Shamoon, posted Jul 13th 2007 at 5:14PM




Those with parallel predilections for dogs and extreme laziness will be happy to hear that Sony's now-extinct AIBO has a successor. It's called RobuDog, and it's being made by a French company called Robosoft, which showed its project for the first time at something called RoboCup.

Robo robo robo robo.

Anyway, the little fella has wireless access, 17 joints, two infrared sensors, an "intelligent" color camera, and floor-contact sensors on each foot. Its articulated ankles make things like walking and scratching its behind that much easier, and the dog is compatible with Microsoft Robotics Studio 1.5, which allows users to create virtual action simulations and then upload them back to the bot.

Available this fall for 3,200 Euros, or about $4397 American dollars, at a robodealer near you.

From Engadget

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Sony's Robo Dog Back from the Dead

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 9th 2007 at 3:40PM

Aibo's Evil TwinAibo, the robotic dog companion from Sony, was officially killed off early last year without much fanfare. With the company restructuring and demand for a $2,500 toy dog predictably slim, maintaining the product line was not a particularly high priority. However, for the right company, there's still quite a market for robo dogs, and iXs Research Corp. is hoping to capitalize by bringing the pooch's spiritual successor to life, selling it for the bargain price of twice the cost of the original.

BJ, the moniker given to the newer, darker clone, is a rather more serious machine than Sony's playful offering was -- as it should be given the cost. Where Sony only very reluctantly gave Aibo owners the ability to do some limited programming of their pets, BJ is fully hackable right out of the box. It contains a Linux-based system inside its body, which should make software updates easy via the (cheeky) tail-mounted USB thumb drive. IR, light, and motion sensors will help the pooch find its way around.

BJ's primary purpose in life is for research and competition in robot events like the RoboCup, but we're sure someone will have it fetching beers from the fridge in no time at all.

From Engadget

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Attack of the Clones

by Tom Conlon, posted May 20th 2007 at 6:02PM

Attack of the Clones
DasaTech Genibo
Last year, Sony put its line of Aibo robot dogs to sleep to the dismay of a small, but devoted following of bionic canine lovers. Thankfully, Korean manufacturer DasaTech has pulled a 'Pet Sematary' and resurrected Aibo in the form of Genibo (left, short for 'Genius Robot').

The Genibo trots around your house avoiding obstacles. It understands about 100 voice commands and can spout back phone numbers and calendar appointments. It even has a built-in camera that can transmit snaps to a PC via Bluetooth -- just in case you want photos of all the legs Genibo has been sizing up as potential mates. No word yet on price or availability.

Spotted at Engadget
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