Machine dog, arm ascend to robot heaven

The ranks of robot immortals have grown! Yea, Carnegie Mellon University hath finally announced another fresh batch of synthetic deities for its Robot Hall of Fame and two of them hail from the Land of the Rising Robot: decommissioned Sony hund Aibo (passim) and the good ol' Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (ahem, SCARA), created by Yamanashi University engineering professor Hiroshi Makino in the late 1970s.

Aibo, launched two decades later, was the most sophisticated and one of the most successful mass-marketed robots ever. Though it won hearts and minds around the world with its incredible lifelike behavior and the ability to develop a "personality," Sony put it down earlier this year along with magnesium wonderdroid Qrio. Now that Sony's corporate fortunes seem to be on the mend, one wonders whether it will reverse that unfortunate decision. Meanwhile, Aibos reprogrammed for speed continue to blow minds at RoboCup soccer tournaments.

SCARA, short on personality but long on efficiency, was inspired by a Japanese byoubu folding screen. With its high-speed four-axis movement and simple, non-anthropomorphic design, it massively boosted productivity in the electronics manufacturing industry. The multi-jointed design was exported around the world and is still in use in products like the Motoman HM series. Chances are a SCARA bot put together many of the parts in your car and cellphone. Probably your Aibo too.