Aibo (1999)

History

Sony unveiled Aibo on 11 May 1999 with a retail price of $2,500 (250,000 yen in Japan). According to the company, Aibo was "quite an expressive pet, thanks to eighteen types of joints in the legs, neck, tail, and upper jaw." The first generation (models ERS-110 and ERS-111) sold about 65,000 units. Second-generation models were released in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Third generation models arrived in late 2003 (model ERS-7), and the ERS-7M3 model, released in 2005, was the latest. From 1999 to 2008, Aibo was used as a platform in the robot soccer competition RoboCup, in the Four-Legged Robot Soccer League. The first International Aibo Convention took place in Tokyo in 1999 and continued for several years. Sony would eventually sell more than 150,000 units until it decided to discontinue the robot in 2006 amid protests from Aibo fans. Many online communities for Aibo enthusiasts are still active today, and some versions of the robot now sell on eBay for thousands of dollars. In 2017, Sony announced it was launching a brand-new version of Aibo, Model ERS-1000, completely redesigned with more advanced mechatronics and AI.