AIBO

AIBO (Artificial Intelligence Robot) was Sony's autonomous entertainment robot dog. First released in 1999 for $2,000, it sold out its initial run of 3,000 units in 20 minutes. AIBO could walk, see (via camera), recognize its owner's voice and face, learn tricks, and develop a "personality" over time. It expressed emotions through eye LEDs, body movements, and sounds. When Sony discontinued AIBO in 2006, owners held funerals for their robots. Sony revived the line in 2018 with a new AI-powered version. AIBO proved that people could form genuine emotional bonds with a robot, even knowing it was a machine.