Quest for practical robots

A recent article in Newsweek quotes me as saying that Japanese are too in love with robots.

It's a point that is seldom discussed - while U.S. firms like iRobot have turned out hit mass-consumer products such as Roomba that are pragmatic, Japanese companies are still obsessed with building bipedal machines that are very cool but pretty useless.

It's the Astro Boy complex at work. The idea of building a humanoid robot just like the machines of science fiction makes for some very slickly designed robots, but many are marketplace failures.

As the article points out, it's no surprise that Roomba the robot vacuum cleaner has sold over 3 million units, but Mitsubishi Heavy Industries sold only a few dozen of its humanoid communication robot Wakamaru. Granted, the latter was over one hundred times more expensive.

But Japanese engineers are learning that things called "robot" should be practical too. Earlier this month, Toyota unveiled its Winglet electric scooter, similar to a Segway and incorporating robotics technology from Sony's Aibo lab. The automaker calls it "a personal transport assistance robot." Toyota's other robots include a band of humanoid musicians - impressive but nowhere near practical yet. The Winglet, though, is a brilliant fusion of design and functionality.

New Aibo rumor groundless: Sony

The blogosphere has been swirling with rumors that Sony is set to revive its much-loved robot dog Aibo next year with a PlayStation-compatible version.

Sony put Aibo to sleep in 2006 when it shut down its robot entertainment business. Earlier this year, Kotaku.com featured an interview with Aibo co-designer Masaya Matsuura that quoted him as saying, "The engineers behind the Aibo are doing the PS3. We are talking about making something like the new Aibo."

Then Stuff magazine apparently published a photo of the new "Aibo PS" in development and alleged it would be compatible with the PS3, PSP and WiFi. Numerous sites like Engaget and Gizmodo repeated the news.

Sounds great, but it seems no one bothered to call Sony to check.

Well, I did. The company's Tokyo headquarters says the rumor is entirely groundless and it is "definitely not" working on a new Aibo. The Sony spokesperson laughed when he saw the pic from Stuff magazine. (I think that pup looks way too nasty to have been designed by a Japanese company like Sony. It's just not kawaii.)

The whole thing smacks of a hoax. Or hype that got out of hand.
That's Internet journalism for you!

Puppy love, redux

Another robot dog will hit store shelves in Japan in October following the demise of Sony's popular Aibo last year. Sega Toys has announced it will market Mio, a small toy robot dog that can express its "emotions" and respond to petting. It has sensors on its head, chin and back. Mio's eyes will display over a hundred icons to express psychological states. It can also respond to voice with its own "babble," play music and shuffle along. There's a video here.

Retailing for 9,240 yen ($75), Mio is part of Sega Toys' "Dream Pet" line of robotic animals that includes Yume Neko Smile, a lifelike synthetic cat.