Inside the mind of a vintage Sony AIBO robot 

The Aibo was absolutely beyond it's own time. Though it has aged well in some respects and poorly in others, it will always be remembered as an unusual, but impactful, footnote in consumer robotics technology. Now time to get my old ERS 210 working... Edit: My 210 is now functional as of June 21st!

I watched that 'Man's Best Friend' documentary showing AIBO funerals on NHK a few years ago. It was fascinating and quite profound actually. It's easy to dismiss this when viewing just the funeral segment out of context on RU-vid as simply another one of those "wacky Japanese" things, but in the actual documentary they interview the monk who conducts the ceremonies and his thoughts on the matter are very poignant and existential. Of course, much of this is down to the inherent animistic nature of Japanese culture and their Shinto beliefs (even though this was a Buddhist ceremony, Buddhism and Shinto coexist in Japan), but there is definitely something more universal going on, as I've seen plenty of Western AIBO owners express similar sentiments. It reminds me of the Star Trek TNG episode "The Measure of a Man" when Data has to prove he's more than simply a machine, after Starfleet orders his disassembly for research purposes. All of this goes to illustrate that Sony's original intent of developing human-robot interaction with the AIBO project has actually succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. I still have my original ERS-110 from 1999 and amazingly he's still working perfectly. As basic as the tech is by modem standards, it's still hugely impressive and stands as a testament to Sony's pioneering spirit. It's always been more than just another piece of consumer tech to me. It's also staggering to me that the original ERS-110 project was actually created at a financial loss to the company. This being a product that sold for $2,500 in 1999! Truly mind blowing. How many other companies would have even entertained such an insane project?! Sony are awesome.

Between 2000 and 2010 I was obsessed with robotics. I had x2 ERS-210s and all the hack software you discussed. 13 years have passed and I finally feel I am healthy enough to get back into the hobby.

The thing that bugs me about the funerals is as important as these were to people they're getting to the age where they're getting more and more rare, and there must be easily enough parts between all those aibos to get at least a few of them back on their feet.

Soul or not, these robots hold a special place in my heart. I currently own two broken ones, with a third on the way. I hope to repair one to have for myself.

I absolutely adore these things. While logically it's easy to dismiss them as nothing more than electronics and motors, something about them really hits the human part of you, and I can't help but want to look after and befriend them.

This video sent me down such a rabbit hole, jeez. RU-vid recommended me this randomly. I had forgotten about the robot pet craze of the eary 2000s, when I was a barely 10 y.o. kid. I saw one of these guys in a tech center for kids, and then dreamt of having one. And now you are telling me there is a modern remake? And it's adorable?! I have to really hold on to my wallet, because it's way too expensive in my situation. And yet... Reminiscing aside. This was a great video. Really brought me back, and great to hear this little robot got its own community with mods and alterations. It was an incredibly futuristic gadget back then, and I imagine it could make people dream of robotics even today.

0:12 How did you get the audio rip for the recognition bootup, it turned out extremely good!

AIBO is surprisingly charismatic, even with the annoying voice, I was concerned that it wouldn't be able to dock correctly and keep it's battery charged. So totally get your point about AIBO souls.

Watching people honor their robot friends with funerals is kinda heartwarming.

I wasnt fond of this model before but now i kinda like it. Also 3:42 this dog sounds like midna from twilight princess.

I'm really surprised hobbyists haven't picked up on aibo. All of the salivating over vintage game consoles, here's a domestic robot dog that has a (very) rudimentary AI from over twenty years ago and almost nobody really does anything with them.

Fantastic video. I'd love to see more videos on Aibo.

I like your this video program. After so many years peoples still use them , I think that for education, for hobby & research..... it really have a lot of meaning.

Your video is really interesting... I like this model

i love this video a lot, its very interesting and captivating. i hope you gain more attention in the future

My uncle bought the second generation one, I was 15 at the time, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen

I know this video is now 4 years old, but hacking a Sony Aibo using a Clié is something my early 20's early 2Ks self would have thought was about the coolest tech thing possible. My 40's self may need to start scrounging eBay for old tech to make myself feel young again. Back then I had the time, but not the money. These days, I have the money, but not the time. Ahhhh...what a shame.

This thing was state of the art! Japanese engineering at its finest too bad they dont innovate like they used to.

That charging station docking feature should be M rated!

a lot of aibos passed away!

I love 210 aibos i used to have a black 111 but he broke his neck from falling down stairs, getting another soon, i love them so much

I wish the legs didn't move like they're a human walking on all 4s, I love everything else about this version of aibo, but the legs weird me out a bit too much

Really cool stuff, insane that a company 1 designed this 2 did it in 2000! I want more future tech today please sony!!

wow your video was incredible! I'm from Mexico and I've been thinking about buying an aibo

That just my baby doggy :]

As long as one believes, everything has a soul.

The self docking ist... Special.

aibo ers 210, flick a ball!

AIBOS ARE SO CUTE XD

I checked on the new Aibo, how this new one is supposed to work and when I read "may require fees, registration and credit card information." it was over for me. If they make a version with an SD-card slot, I may consider it. I am still interested in the AI core though. They added an emotion system, even on the "Old" model, which is in my opinion mandatory for an AI.

The new Sino came out

People say that the voice from recognition is very annoying, but i actually find it kind of cute! I mean, i know why it could become annoying after a while, but it's got some cute phrases.

what da dog doin

This is a great video on how to use the key to open the modular design. Well done. What kind of Vaio wireless lan card fits in the Aibo ERS 210? Thanks.

Absolutely mental tech

i expected a teardown from the thumbnail 😂

I've always been looking for the song of the beginning... it comes from the recognition software... Am I right? Where did you got it? And if it was possible can I download it? By the way great video! Entertaining and informative!

8:44 annoying? it's so cute it made my day!

meant to ask, what software is the aibo that includes the "annoying voice"? i find it quite cute actually

What happened? we had more technology 20 years ago then we do now. We've had the technology for robots and all this other futuristic tech all this time and will all these AI and computer and battery advancements we only have slightly more powerful computers than before, cell phones are basically old school pda's with better processors and screens. What happened to innovation? why doesn't any cool stuff like this ever make it to the market now?

Hi! I love the video and will be getting my hands on a ERS210 soon for repair! My question is do you know the model number of that Sony wireless card? I would love to install one in my dog but cant seem to find the card online, thanks!

4:56 he mad >:(

Is it possible that this old model has a neural network as a thinking center - I find it hard to believe, considering that the processor inside is probably a relatively weak microcontroller. It is possible that it has some machine learning algorithm, but I doubt that it has some neural network model inside.

hello i was very curious where would i get one of the cards you used? i am going to be doing a presentation on aibos and i would love one to use on my 210

I better get my limb key and start popping parts

Watching try to hump the charger was to much for me

Just curious what parts fail in these things.

now imagine if we connect this to GPT or AutoGPT

Damn that mutt with it's eyes, looks kinda evil

My pipe dream... 😿

I'm really shocked at the price of these around $500 for one that just about works for the first version 😂

How did you get aibo tool on clie? I have the same model as yours and it does not have aibo tool when I put in the stick

Having robot friends sounds kinda solipsistic.

if you put it in VRChat, all the users will call it protogen dog or proto dog

I didn’t know that you could swap out Aibo programs on the older models. Have a wonderful day and may God bless. Jesus Christ loves you! :)

The video was helpful but don't show an aibo butt

lol dat garbo is 4000 rn looooooooooooooooolllllllll