[IP] Why did Sony kill off its Aibo robot dog?
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Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Why did Sony kill off its Aibo robot dog?
Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:56:22 -0800
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[Note: Here's the take on the Sony Aibo move from the UK. DLH]
Why did Sony kill off its Aibo robot dog?
Charles Arthur
Thursday February 2, 2006
The Guardian
<http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1699508,00.html>
Because Aibo isn't a band or a film, and it can't play or record
music or films. Essentially, Sir Howard Stringer, the new boss at the
Japanese multinational, is trying to focus the company on areas that
will generate cash and, more importantly, profits, and the robotics
unit that created Aibo, launched in 1999, was put to sleep in the
process.
Also killed off as Sony announced shining results was Qrio, a
humanoid robot that can walk on two legs but had never been sold
commercially; and, separately, the cathode-ray tube and plasma TV
operations, which aren't thriving either.
Though the Aibo was very popular - 150,000 were sold - it never went
on sale in the UK, and the robotics division only produced about $40m
to $80m revenue.
The cull, announced last week, shocked Aibo fans, who were drooling
only last September over the third-generation version of the robot
dog with a camera in its eye that could be used to recognise its
owner and record images, while its personality could be reprogrammed
from lovable to mischievous.
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
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