Aibo: The world’s first robot dog
In 1999, Aibo, the world's first robot dog, hit the shops in Japan and sold out in just 20 minutes. Toshitada Doi spent six years on the project when he worked at Sony.
In 1999, Aibo, the world's first robot dog, hit the shops in Japan with a test sale of 3,000 products which sold out in just 20 minutes. Toshitada Doi spent six years on the project when he was a senior vice-president of Sony.
Aibo could bark, walk, growl, wag his tail, and play with a ball, but he also came with a hefty price tag of $2,500. The canine robots even featured in RoboCup, the four-legged Robot Soccer League.
Toshitada Doi is now a best-selling author and goes by the name of Shiro Tenge, he speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the invention.
(Photo: Aibo robot dog, 2021 version. Credit: Yuichi Yamazaki, Getty Images)
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