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47-404: On January 26, 2006, on the same day as it announced its discontinuation of AIBO and other products, Sony announced that it would stop development of QRIO. The QRIO prototypes were developed and manufactured by Sony Intelligence Dynamics Laboratory, Inc. The number of these prototypes in existence is unknown. Up to ten QRIO have been seen performing a dance routine together; this was confirmed by

94-541: A Suntory poster presentation. But time was short and there were problems with copyright fee[s], so I was asked to come up with something." Sorayama is known for his fine art , illustration, and industrial design . Of the distinction between the first two, Soryama commented in an interview: "Unlike art, illustration is not a matter of emotion or hatreds, but an experience that comes naturally through logical thinking." Sorayama began drawing erotic art of gynoid robots in 1983. His pin-up work appeared monthly for years in

141-548: A Sony QRIO. AIBO AIBO (stylized as aibo, abbreviated as A rtificial I ntelligence Ro BO t, homonymous with aibō ( 相棒 ) , "pal" or "partner" in Japanese) is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony . Sony announced a prototype Aibo in mid-1998, and the first consumer model was introduced on 11 May 1999. New models were released every year until 2006. Although most models were dogs, other inspirations included lion cubs and space explorers. Only

188-618: A Sony representative at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA on January 22, 2006. Numerous videos of this can be found on the web. Four fourth-generation QRIO prototype robots were featured dancing in the Hell Yes music video by recording artist Beck . These prototypes lacked a third camera in the center of the forehead and the improved hands and wrists which were added to later prototypes. It took programmers three weeks to program their choreography. QRIO

235-620: A Windows PC. Same functionality used in the Aibo Entertainment Player. The AIBO Remote Framework is a Windows PC API based on Visual C++. The Framework can be used to write code that can remotely control an AIBO running MIND2 or MIND3 Aiboware via a wireless LAN. Commercial usage is allowed, and the license fee is free. Several robot software development frameworks have been developed that support AIBOs, including URBI , Tekkotsu, and Pyro . Hajime Sorayama Hajime Sorayama ( 空山 基 , Sorayama Hajime , born February 22, 1947)

282-459: A cease-and-desist notice demanding that "Aibopet" stop distributing code that was retrieved by bypassing the copy protection mechanisms. In the face of complaints by many outraged AIBO owners, Sony backed down and subsequently released a programmer's kit for "non-commercial" use. The kit was eventually expanded into three distinct tools: R-CODE, the OPEN-R SDK ( software development kit ) and

329-406: A customizable trick. It sold for about $ 3,000. The humanoid QRIO robot was designed as the successor to AIBO and runs the same base R-CODE and Aperios operating system. Its development was halted prior to commercial release. The initial ERS-110 AIBO's hardware includes a 64-bit RISC processor, 16 megabytes of RAM, sensors (touch, camera, range-finder, microphone, acceleration, angular velocity),

376-414: A film about Penthouse . During 2012 and 2013, Sorayama collaborated with American fashion designer Marc Ecko . In 2013 Sorayama was a contributor to the art book Star Wars Art Concept . In 2016, South Korean fashion label Juun.J released a series of garments in collaboration with Sorayama. French fashion brand Dior collaborated with Sorayama for their Pre-Fall 2019 menswear collection. The collection

423-535: A global community of robot specialists and programmers to add capability. First and second generation models of AIBO can load different software packages sold by Sony. AIBOware (a trademark of Sony corporation) is the title given to the software the AIBO runs on its pink Memory Stick . The Life AIBOware allows the robot to be raised from pup to fully grown adult while going through various stages of development as its owner interacts with it. The Explorer AIBOware allows

470-448: A handheld viewer (Japan only) which would "translate Aibos thoughts and feelings into text" and enable the handler to play games with them. The ERS-7 and its successive iterations were the third generation of AIBO robots and the final ones released before the product line's 2006 discontinuation. They were first sold in 2003 and priced between $ 1500 and $ 2000. It has been estimated that ERS-7 sold 15,000 units of each variant, M1 to M3, for

517-448: A mock funeral, attended by more than 100 colleagues from Sony. At the ceremony, Doi said that the AIBO was a symbol of a risk-taking spirit at Sony that was now dead. In November 2017, Sony Corporation announced that AIBO would return with a new model that would be capable of forming an emotional bond with users. Several prototypes have been displayed by Sony. Early models were insect-like with six legs. The specifications and design of

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564-584: A novel, interesting and attractive feature for "appropriately designed entertainment robots". His early monkey-like prototype "MUTANT" included behaviors such as tracking a yellow ball, shaking hands, karate strikes and sleeping, which were later adopted in AIBOs. Fujita received the IEEE Inaba Technical Award for Innovation Leading to Production for AIBO as "the world's first mass-market consumer robot for entertainment applications". Artist Hajime Sorayama

611-497: A re-celled battery, 16 degrees of freedom (drive unit). Variants of ERS-210/220 with an improved CPU and head clutch. Nearly identical in appearance to the earlier models, they were distinguished by the Super Core logo on the underside of the body. US$ 1299 at launch. The ERS-31x models had an "AIBO's heart" slogan. The original production design illustrator was Katsura Moschino. The price was 98,000 yen or US$ 950. The "Latte" (ERS-311)

658-412: A speaker, and actuators (legs, neck, mouth, tail). As the series developed, more sensors and actuators were added. During the latter half of the second aibo model, 20x, a revision model named super core was added which fixed a flaw in the robots' head clutch which caused tilting, panning, and drooping issues, also known as PAS, TAS, and DHS. These revision models also included a much faster processor, hence

705-505: A total of 45,000 units. The ERS-1000 was the first AIBO model in the product line's revival, released in January ;2018. It is equipped with an LTE SIM card to support interaction and learning via cloud computing , requiring a persistent Internet connection to function fully. This model has a less-robotic and "cuter" appearance than other models. The ERS-1000 can recognize up to 100 faces, responds to over 50 voice commands, and can learn

752-576: Is a Japanese illustrator known, along for his design work on the original Sony AIBO , for his precisely detailed, erotic portrayals of feminine robots. He describes his highly detailed style as "superrealism", which he says "deals with the technical issue of how close one can get to one's object." Modern English-language editions of Sorayama's art books give his name as Hajime Sorayama , using conventional Western order, with given name followed by surname. Some older publications give his name as Sorayama Hajime , using native Japanese name order, which puts

799-476: Is an off-white/cream color and is considered the "friendly" model. The "Macaron" (ERS-312) is mostly black with cream accents and is considered the "naughty" model. The "Pug" (ERS-31L) is the least common of the three and was $ 200 cheaper. The 31x series dogs are considered to look like a bichon puppy or a bear cub. These models are aesthetically identical to the ERS-311 and ERS-312 and feature Bluetooth connection to

846-624: Is available from providers such as Robot App Store. Initially, access to programming capabilities was limited to Sony and organizations participating in Robocup. By reverse-engineering AIBO, users developed their own software that operated together with AIBOware such as "DiscoAibo" which made the robotic canine dance to music. In a significant copyright milestone, Sony invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in October 2001, and sent

893-569: Is capable of voice and face recognition, making it able to remember people as well as their likes and dislikes. A video on QRIO's website shows it speaking with several children. QRIO can run at 23 cm/s, and is credited in Guinness World Records (2005 edition) as being the first bipedal robot capable of running (which it defines as moving while both legs are off the ground at the same time). The 4th generation QRIO's internal battery lasts about 1 hour. In 2005, four QRIO robots appeared in

940-470: Is credited as AIBO's original progenitor: in 1994 he had started work on robots at CSL with artificial intelligence expert Masahiro Fujita. Fujita felt that the robot's behaviors needed to "be sufficiently complex or unexpected so that people keep an interest in watching or taking care of it". Fujita argued at the time that, while technologies such as voice recognition and vision were not mature enough for critical applications, their limited capabilities could be

987-502: Is possible via a simple WiFi terminal socket connection. Commercial usage is allowed, and the license fee is free. R-CodePlus is a derivative of R-Code by AiboPet with several added functionalities. R-CodePlus is a superset of R-Code in terms of language, so everything written in standard R-Code will work on an R-CodePlus MemoryStick (for the same Model AIBO). R-CodePlus exposes new AIBO functions such as simple face recognition, name registration, and camera adjustment settings. In addition to

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1034-434: The 1997 and 1998 prototypes, described in a Sony press release, closely match those of the first generation AIBOs. Differences include the use of PC-Cards for memory (rather than MemoryStick media), the use of two batteries, and the option to use a 2-wheeled "rolling module" in place of legs. The first commercially available AIBO, ERS-110 has a beagle-like appearance and was silver with a golden-brown hue and grey claws. There

1081-625: The 2015 film Ex Machina . In the 2000s, Sorayama's first-generation AIBO design (the robotics of which were developed by Sony's Toshitada Doi ) received the Grand Prize of Best Design award, the highest design award conferred by Japan. AIBO has since been included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and the Smithsonian Institution . It was included in the book Objects of Design by Paola Antonelli and has been

1128-493: The AIBO ERS-1000 models), playing cards, and a charging station with a pole and marker mat for autonomous docking (210 and later models only). Legs: 3-axes x4, Ear: 1-axis x 2, Tail: 2-axes x1 Pressure sensor (head) x1 Pressure sensor (head) Pressure sensor (head) x2 Electrostatic sensors (head, back) x4 Button sensors (One on each paw) All AIBOs previous to ERS-1000 were bundled with AIBOLife software, enabling

1175-546: The AIBO Entertainment Player, a Wi-Fi based connection to a PC. Upgrades in Mind3 included speech, blogging and autonomous room mapping. AIBO's complete vision system uses the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm to recognise its charging station. The vision system is an implementation of Evolution Robotics ERVision. Notable AIBOware software Notable third-party software Free third-party software

1222-472: The AIBO Remote Framework (ERS-7 only). These three tools are combined under the name AIBO Software Development Environment. R-CODE and AIBO Remote FRamework were free to download and could be used for commercial or non-commercial purposes, while OPEN-R SDK is specifically for non-commercial use. The OPEN-R SDK is a C++ based programming SDK, based on open-source tools (like gcc and newlib), that allows

1269-560: The ERS-7, ERS-110/111 and ERS-1000 versions were explicitly a "robotic dog", but the 210 can also be considered a dog due to its Jack Russell Terrier appearance and face. In 2006, AIBO was added into the Carnegie Mellon University Robot Hall of Fame . On 26 January 2006 Sony announced that it would discontinue AIBO and several other products in an effort to make the company more profitable. Sony's AIBO customer support

1316-506: The creation of software for AIBO platforms. This SDK is considered low-level and allows control of everything from the gain values of AIBO's actuators to retrieving AIBO's camera data and performing computer vision computations. No pre-built "standard" AIBO functionality is provided, such as it is with R-Code and AIBO Remote Framework. It thus permits low-level robotic research. R-Code is a high-level scripting language for AIBO, allowing creation of simple programs for an AIBO to execute. Remoting

1363-670: The family name first. Hajime Sorayama was born in 1947 in Imabari , Ehime prefecture, Japan . He received his basic education at Imabari Kita High School where he began drawing Playboy inspired pin-ups. He was influenced by Makoto Oda's book Nandemo Mite yaro ("I'll go and see everything") about his travels through Europe and Asia; Sorayama took interest in Greece and decided to enter Christian Shikoku Gakuin University to study English literature and Ancient Greek. In his second year, he founded

1410-435: The music video for " Hell Yes " by Beck . The robots dance along to the music. In the 2009 series finale of the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica , the virtual Number Six and virtual Baltar appear in coda set on modern-day Earth. They comment on the cycle of violence perpetuated by humanity's interaction with "technology run amok". The final scene then shows a montage of real-life robots, starting with

1457-482: The name supercore. Wi-Fi was available as an add-on for some second-generation AIBOs. The third family of AIBOs, the ERS-7s, have multiple head and body sensors, clicking ear actuators, a chest-mounted proximity sensor, expressive "Illume-Face" and Wi-Fi connectivity. All AIBOs were bundled with accessories including a charging station and pink ball toy. Late-model ERS7's were bundled with a pink AIBone bone-shaped toy (as did

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1504-500: The owner to interact with a fully mature robot able to understand (though not necessarily willing to obey) 100 voice commands. Without AIBOware, AIBOs run in "clinic mode" and can only perform basic actions. Third generation ERS-7 models have a sole "Mind" software that includes capabilities of AIBOLife and other AIBOware packages. Mind software also includes a docking process, allowing ERS-7s to recharge autonomously. Upgrades in Mind2 included

1551-539: The pages of Penthouse magazine, and Playboy TV later aired made a television special on Sorayama's art. In an interview, he said pin-up was his "mania", commenting that "I've been drawing them since high school. Back then, there was this thing for the Playboy and Penthouse playmates. Now, it's the girl-next-door, idol type, but in our day, these pin-ups were like goddesses. I guess I could describe it as my own goddess cult." His style has influenced other works such as

1598-567: The robot to walk, "see" its environment via camera, recognize spoken commands (English and Spanish, or Japanese), and develop a "personality". AIBO's sounds were programmed by Japanese DJ/avant-garde composer Nobukazu Takemura , fusing mechanical and organic concepts. The sounds in ERS-7 Mind and custom data were composed by Japanese musician and game designer Masaya Matsuura . Aperios is Sony's Proprietary Real-Time Operating system, used in all AIBOs, QRIO and some other consumer devices. Aperios OS

1645-457: The same price. It has a similar appearance to ERS-110, with different ear and tail shapes, and was available in metallic black or shiny silver with black claws. 40,000 units were manufactured. The ERS-210 was designed to look like a lion cub but was essentially a dog-shape with a flat bull terrier face and Jack Russell Terrier appearance, available in black, silver, gold, red, blue, green and white. It featured speech recognition capabilities and

1692-422: The school magazine, Pink Journal , but criticism motivated him to leave for Tokyo's Chuo Art School in 1967 to study art. Sorayama graduated in 1968 at the age of 21, and gained an appointment in an advertising agency. He became a freelance illustrator in 1972. In 1978, he drew his first robot. Of this subject, he wrote: "A friend of mine, the designer Hara Koichi , wanted to use C-3PO from Star Wars for

1739-583: The shortcomings of available technology for functional uses, he decided to focus on robots for entertainment. The AIBO responded to over 100 voice commands and talked in a tonal language, or talked like a human and made other noises if programmed to. Two of the first generation AIBOs exported into the US came to New York, NY and one remains in the archives and displays at Artspace Company Y LLC. Later models of AIBOs were designed jointly with prestigious Japanese designers, and continued to gain design awards. The ERS-210 design

1786-461: The standard R-Code terminal socket for remoting, R-CodePlus supplies a "Telemetry" socket for several binary data transfers such as AIBO's camera image and sending/receiving sound. Aibnet offers a development environment for R-Code programming. Simplified drag-and-drop customizing of behavior is available via the user-created YART ("Yet Another RCode Tool ") Remotely access capabilities of AIBO MIND including behaviors and pattern recognition from

1833-517: The subject of special studies at Carnegie Mellon University . The Nike "White Dunk Project" included Sorayama among the 25 most inspiring Japanese artists. The artist released another retrospective, Master Works , in early 2010, and a new book, Vibrant Vixens , in May 2013 and updated version "XL Masterworks" in 2014. He worked with filmmakers in Hollywood on fantasy and science fiction projects, including

1880-461: The use of modular hardware components, such as appendages that can be easily removed and replaced to change the shape and function of the robots, and modular software components that can be interchanged to change their behavior and movement patterns. AIBO's creator, Doi, called OPEN-R the "masterpiece" of the AIBO development project, arguing it would minimize the need for programming individual movements or responses, and its "open" nature would encourage

1927-519: Was a limited production of 5,000 units: 3,000 for Japan and 2,000 for the US market. Sales began on 1 June 1999 and sold out via the Internet in 20 minutes. It is often considered the rarest model of AIBO. ERS-110 cost 250,000 yen, or US$ 2,500, which would convert to over $ 3,500 as of 2020. The ERS-111 was released in November ;1999 and was an improved version of the original AIBO marketed at

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1974-538: Was developed at Sony's Computer Science Laboratory (CSL). Founded in 1990, CSL was set up to emulate the innovation center at the Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) . CSL's first product was the Aperios operating system, which later formed the base software used by some AIBO models. When Nobuyuki Idei became president of Sony in 1995, he sought to adopt a digital agenda and gave greater prominence to CSL. Dr. Toshitada Doi

2021-510: Was enlisted to create the initial designs for the AIBO's body. Those designs are now part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Institution . The first generation AIBO design won Japan's prestigious Good Design Award, Grand Prize and a special Intelligent Design award at the 2000 German Red Dot awards. In 1997 Doi received backing from Idei to form Sony's Digital Creatures Lab. Believing that robots would be commonplace in households by 2010, but aware of

2068-595: Was inspired by lion cubs. The bodies of the "ERS-3x" series (Latte and Macaron, the round-headed AIBOs released in 2001) were designed by visual artist Katsura Moshino winning the Good Design Award. The sleek and futuristic, space-exploration inspired body of the "ERS-220" was designed by Shoji Kawamori , winning the Good Design Award and a Design for Asia award. The ERS-7 Also won a Good Design Award. Almost ten years later, Idei's successor, Howard Stringer closed down AIBO and other robotic projects. Doi then staged

2115-455: Was intended to be widely deployed, using real-time capabilities to handle multiple audio and visual data streams concurrently. The operating system was not widely adopted, and by 2003 Sony had stopped active development with COO Kunitake Ando commenting "Aperios was an operating system of a pre-Internet age and we decided that it isn't adequate for the future". The OPEN-R architecture is specific to entertainment robots. The architecture involves

2162-584: Was the most popular AIBO model with over 65,000 units sold. It sold for around $ 1,500 at launch which was later reduced to less than $ 1,000. The ERS-220 had a more futuristic design based on a space exploration robot concept by Shoji Kawamori. It had a chrome finish with headlights and colored LEDs. Between 5,000 and 7,000 units were sold, priced at 180,000 yen. Remote operation was possible through an optional wireless local area network. Specifications: height 29.6 cm, 1.5 kg weight, 1.5 hours (default) continuous operation time, 2.5 hours or more operation with

2209-537: Was withdrawn gradually, with support for the final ERS-7M3 ending in March 2013. In July 2014, Sony stopped providing repairs for AIBO products and did not provide customer support or repair for the older AIBO robots. In November 2017, Sony announced a new generation of AIBO. The fourth generation model, ERS-1000, was launched in Japan on 11 January 2018. The second lottery sale was set on 6 February 2018. The AIBO product line

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