Why did Sony kill off its Aibo robot dog?

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        [Dewayne-Net] Why did Sony kill off its Aibo robot dog?
Date:   Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:56:22 -0800
From:   Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To:       dewayne () warpspeed com
To:     Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>



[Note:  Here's the take on the Sony Aibo move from the UK.  DLH]

Why did Sony kill off its Aibo robot dog?

Charles Arthur
Thursday February 2, 2006
The Guardian
<http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1699508,00.html>

Because Aibo isn't a band or a film, and it can't play or record  
music or films. Essentially, Sir Howard Stringer, the new boss at the  
Japanese multinational, is trying to focus the company on areas that  
will generate cash and, more importantly, profits, and the robotics  
unit that created Aibo, launched in 1999, was put to sleep in the  
process.
Also killed off as Sony announced shining results was Qrio, a  
humanoid robot that can walk on two legs but had never been sold  
commercially; and, separately, the cathode-ray tube and plasma TV  
operations, which aren't thriving either.
Though the Aibo was very popular - 150,000 were sold - it never went  
on sale in the UK, and the robotics division only produced about $40m  
to $80m revenue.
The cull, announced last week, shocked Aibo fans, who were drooling  
only last September over the third-generation version of the robot  
dog with a camera in its eye that could be used to recognise its  
owner and record images, while its personality could be reprogrammed  
from lovable to mischievous.

Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>


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