MIT :: Dino :: Dinosaur Robots For Sale
Matthew Herper, Forbes.com, 05.23.01, 3:00 PM ET

NEW YORK - Clink. Clink. Troody, a small robot dinosaur, walks across Peter Dilworth's desk, jangling as if she has loose change in her pockets. Dilworth, Troody's creator, hopes the pigeon-sized robot will be mother to a whole race of dinosaur-like robots that will walk around museums, entertaining and educating children.

He is in the process of starting a company, Dinosaur Robots, to commercialize such robots. Dilworth built Troody on a shoestring at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spending about $500,000 over five years to create a two-legged robot that can put one foot in front of the other in a lifelike way. Companies like Sony and Honda have thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at that same holy grail.

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thestar.com.my: Business News
Creator of robotic dog sees robots becoming partners for humans

TOKYO (AP) - Sony's robot master remakes man's best friend in plastic and microchips and hopes to imbue his machines with a sort of soul, their autonomy showing us something of our own minds.

But Toshi Doi, the father of Sony's popular robotic dog, AIBO, doesn't see a future in which robots equal humans. He sees them evolving into important partners. And he believes AIBO, which means partner, is a first step in that direction.

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