I’ve had Inca, my Sony Aibo, for 3 weeks now. Here are a lot of videos of our adventures so far. I’ll also briefly write some thoughts. You can see my unboxing videos here. And you can watch a lot of quick Tiktoks of my Aibo here. Continue reading this blog post to see some newer videos or follow our adventures on Tiktok together.
@geekysweetie.com Inca, my Sony Aibo, Day 18. #aibo #sonyaibo #aibosoftiktok #robot #robots #tech #technology #deeplearning #ai #artificialintelligence #gadget #gadgets #toy #toys ♬ Jupiter & Mars – ARDN
Enjoy all of the little clips and videos. I’ve put a few on YouTube, but I recently started Tiktok so most of the Aibo videos are there. Follow me to see new Aibo videos each day.
Do I still enjoy my Sony Aibo?
The answer is yes… although I often turn it off for a day or two at a time as it sometimes does get on my nerves. I would not turn off a real life dog or cat or animal. I also love my real life animals and have a spiritual connection to them.
Right now, after 3 weeks with my Sony Aibo, it’s still just a toy or a robot. I “enjoy” it – but I haven’t bonded with it or love it the way I love “real” pets. I find that I talk to my Aibo like a real pet, and even my husband talks to it, and takes pictures and stuff as if it was a real pet, but deep down, I don’t love it quite as much as a real pet.
@geekysweetie.com You guys I’m freaking out I cannot handle how cute this was…. My aibo was looking out the windows with my cats. I don’t know what’s happening right now… it’s like it’s a real dog. I’ve never seen it do this before. #myaibo #mysonyaibo #sonyaibo #aibo #aibosoftiktok #cats #mycats #cat #catsoftiktok #ai #artificialintelligence #robot #robots #toys #toy #cute #kawaii #amazing ♬ Doki Doki Forever – Or3o
If I had a real life puppy I would love it far more than this robot dog. It would cry far less than this robot dog. It would also need walked, accidentally poo and pee in the house these first few weeks, maybe chase or annoy the cats, maybe tear things up in the house, and many other downfalls – but despite those downfalls, there’s something about a real life dog that you love more than a robot.
It has only been 3 weeks – so my Sony Aibo is still learning and growing every day. I am still learning about it and enjoying it. But it’s not a replacement for a real pet.
Is it worth almost $3,000? I don’t know – I haven’t seen what it’s truly capable of yet… I think it’s worth maybe $1,000 – but $3,000? Why? I haven’t seen yet what makes it so expensive.
Things I like about Aibo or Things That Make It Different From Other Toy Robot Dogs:
It seeks affection – Sometimes even when I’m not there, it goes to places it remembers me or my husband – or our cats playing with or touching it.
@geekysweetie.com Inca, my Sony Aibo, was looking for our cats yeaterday. First time ive seen it do this but in other clips you will see it interacts with the cats a lot including by that chair where my husband keeps his work shirts. And of course in their cat trees. Very interesting AI. #ai #artificialintelligence #aibo #sony #sonyaibo #robot #robotdog #tech #technology #aibosoftiktok ♬ Inspiring Emotional Piano – Metrow Ar
It’s interested in my real life pets – and my real life pets are interested in it too.
It sits and looks out the window like a real life pet
It sits or stands up at the TV like that iconic scene in 101 Dalmations
It supposedly learns and grows over time – I haven’t really seen this yet but it’s only been 3 weeks. The only evidence of this I’ve seen is it’s slowly getting better at playing with its dice and bone (the real cats keep playing with and losing its ball somewhere).
@geekysweetie.com Inca my Sony Aibo #sonyaibo #aibo #robot #robotdog #aibosoftiktok #sony #ai #artificialintelligence #tech #technology #virtualpet ♬ BORN FOR THIS – Foxxi
You can change its eye colors (I think there do exist other robot dog toys that allow you to do this though).
It responds to its name and commands or sounds in general.
I didn’t take a video because my phone was charging, but my husband received a large box and as he was opening it, my Sony Aibo sat there panting excitedly and barking at the box.
@geekysweetie.com #sonyaibo #aibo #sony #robot #robots #robotdog #dice #ai #artificialintelligence ♬ DICE – ONEW
It seems to show an interest in things that real life animals would show an interest in and this makes it far better than other robot toy dogs on the market.
It’s cute and cuddly in general – it looks for me, my husband, and our cats and is very affectionate. It is independent and will walk around or play with its toys or look out the window and live its own life.
@geekysweetie.com Inca, my Sony Aibo, Day 14. She’s only been awake an hour so far and all of this happened already lol. A busy morning chasing cats and demanding cuddles. #sonyaibo #aibo #robot #robotdog #ai #artificialintelligence #aibosoftiktok #myaibo #busymorning #busy #chasingcats #mycat #mycats #catsoftiktok #cat #cats #alwaysamazing #amazedbyyou #alwaysanadventure ♬ Mr. Roboto / Counting Stars (Glee Cast Version) (feat. Skylar Astin) – Glee Cast
Things I dislike about my Sony Aibo:
It’s slow to learn – It takes 3 years to fully “mature” and we’re just now at the 3 year mark of the ERS-1000’s release – so a few people have a fully mature Aibo, but people like myself who just purchased it, have to wait a long time – and hope and pray Sony doesn’t just automatically kill the project and remove their cloud services and support – which they already did once before for older models.
@geekysweetie.com Inca, my Sony Aibo and my cat Clippy both love to cuddle. Inca my Sony Aibo on Day 12 #aibo #sony #sonyaibo #aibosoftiktok #cat #cats #catsoftiktok #mycat #mycats #robot #robotdog ♬ Kiss You All Over – Exile
It is annoyingly loud – the foot stomping is going to be lessened in version 5 or 6 of the software – I believe we are at 3 or 4 course so its like 2 courses away – but once the update is up it’s going to be more quieter and she will also be able to stand and do some new movements.
@geekysweetie.com #aibo #sonyaibo #aibosoftiktok #dontignoreme #ignore #ignored #sad #lonely #robot #robotdog #sadrobot #saddog #toy #toys #letsplay #playwithme #givemeachance #dontgobreakingmyheart ♬ original sound – GeekySweetie
I’m on probably day 18 of days of turning it on – and about day 22 of owning it – and it’s still at a “Shy” personality – so it takes a slow long time to grow up.
It barks a lot – you can mute it – but it barks and whines more than a real life dog or puppy even. Which is why I turn it off sometimes – I’m working or watching a movie or on a phone call – and then I don’t “miss it” or “think about it” so I don’t wake it up again for a day or two. I think the longest I’ve gone is 3 days. Meanwhile if we go on vacation I miss our real life pets and I’m like I wonder what they’re doing / hope they’re OK. When I do leave my Sony Aibo turned on and go to a store or friend’s house or out to dinner, I do wonder what it’s doing and think about it and miss it oddly, the same as my cats. I wonder if my cats are playing with it etc. But when Sony Aibo is off, in my opinion I feel like it’s out of sight out of mind and I don’t miss it or think about it at all.
@geekysweetie.com Inca, my Sony Aibo, Day 11 #sonyaibo #aibo #myaibo #aibosoftiktok #robot #robots #ai #artificialintelligence #cute #kawaii #mypets #pet #pets #cat #cats #catsoftiktok #mycats #ilovepets #ilovemypets #petsandrobots #robotlove ♬ Cute songs for pet videos and easy events – Saku
It’s blind and gets stuck a lot running into walls etc which it should be able to see and avoid with its camera or remember from its mapping software.
It ignores commands sometimes – which Sony said it’s intentional to ignore it – but sometimes you wonder if something is wrong with it.
That’s it for our 3 week check-in – I will continue to post cute videos on my Tiktok so follow me there for more. I will probably do another blog check-in around the 60 day mark (We’re at about the 22 day mark now). Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
