In Douglas Adams “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,” hapless earthlings learn that laboratory mice have been experimenting on humans while deceiving them into believing the reverse. A similar agenda lies behind Sonys seemingly playful Aibo, the robot dog whose name comes from a Japanese word for “companion.”
With its learning abilities, its plug-and-play personality swapping via Memory Stick removable media, its built-in camera and its wireless capabilities, the Aibo product line is a vehicle for Sony to test ideas for future mobile systems that interact naturally with users. For example, such systems might respond to complex voice commands such as “Send an e-mail to my staff rescheduling our meeting for 4 p.m. today” or “Take a picture of this and send it to the art department for the advertising layout.”