Sony’s robotic puppy Aibo continues to learn new commands. Thanks to a new software update, the robot dog can now approach the front door to greet us when we get back home after a hard day’s work.
The Aibo robot is a great success in Japanese territory, especially among the veteran public, since many see it as a replacement for real domestic animals. Now, the latest update to Sony’s Aibo robot is able to predict when we return to our home, and it will sit patiently in front of the front door until we come, just like our real pets do.
According to the Sony website, we will first have to assign a meeting place – in this case, the entrance to the house – by saying a phrase like “this is where you should go.” Aibo should, therefore, lower his head and sniff the ground to indicate that it is memorizing the position. If successful, a door icon will appear on the map located within the companion app. After which, each time you go home, open the front door and say “I’m home”, the little robot dog will come and greet you every time.
Sony continues to bet heavily on this robot dog. Last November, they released an interesting update that trained the robotic animal to go to the bathroom and also to feed it virtually with cookies, along with the possibility of custom programming.
Aibo robots are not exactly cheap since they are around $2,900. Sony has already explained several times, the Japanese giant was thinking of ways to make it “grow” over time, via software updates. Adding features like this will certainly help to reinforce the feeling of having a real dog. And that could allow more customers to decide to pay the $2,900 requested.
