Meet Aibo robby: A robot dog which barks, wag his tail and gives a paw

Tokyo, January 10: A puppy comes to you to cuddle, you play with the puppy dog and when you touch the dog you realize that there is no skin of a dog, it has a fabric body then? How will you feel? Isn’t it strange that a dog having fabric body? But it is the truth as Sony has launched an artificial puppy dog named “Aibo”.

Sony says it relies on sophisticated sensors and AI smarts, the sort used in self-driving cars. The Aibo senses its environs, and not just to avoid objects. The little doggie tries its darnedest to mimic the movement and activities of a real pooch.

During our playtime with the Aibo here at CES, it barked at us in an endearing way. It also kept moving around with boundless energy, almost as a puppy would. Even better, the Aibo responds to touch on three specific areas: on its head, back and under its chin. Two cameras -- in its nose and near its tail -- help the Aibo identify family members and "map" your home environment as well. Those cameras can guide it to its charging station when its two-hour charge nears an end. (It'll take about three hours to get charged.)

 

The new model “Aibo” is a lot more rounded and "organic" looking, with 4,000 parts, 22 actuators and OLED-screen eyes to more realistically duplicate canine activity.

Right now the Aibo is sold in Japan only, and it's not cheap: It'll cost you 198,000 Yen.