Transforming a laptop into a robot – Tech News – CNET.com

By David Becker

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

May 22, 2002, 9:35 PM PT

LOS ANGELES–Sure, Aibo the robot dog is cute, but can he fetch you a beer?

Grabbing a brewski from the fridge is just one of the real-world tasks promised by Evolution Robotics, a Pasadena, Calif.-based company that promises a popular but practical approach to robotics.

The company is at the Electronics Entertainment Expo this week demonstrating a series of “personal robot systems” that can transform an average laptop PC into an intelligent robot. The basic kit includes a rolling platform to mount the laptop on, a Webcam for capturing visual data and software to run on the laptop.

[…]

web site : http://www.evolution.com/

||| AIBO Homepage ||| SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2002

SONY’S AIBO ENTERTAINMENT ROBOT CELEBRATES THIRD ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

Orders for the Robot Will Be Accepted Over the Internet, Telephone and at Select Retail Outlets

As part of the celebration to commemorate the third anniversary of the AIBO ([ERS-110]) Entertainment Robot, originally launched in May 1999, Sony today announced a new addition to LM series of robots, the AIBO [ERS-31L].

The new robot will carry a manufacturer¡¦s suggested retail price of $599 and will include a new AIBO-ware software package, AIBO Pal Special Edition.

The new AIBO, which will come in caramel brown, will feature a new look similar to that of a bulldog or pug with a strong family resemblance to other members of the LM series [ERS-311/312].

Further, the new robot [ERS-31L] will include such advanced software enabled features as photo-taking capabilities (saves JPEG image onto Memory Stick㤠media upon command), a 75-word vocabulary, interactive and expressive sensors, and more than 200 new behaviors.

Beginning June 3 pre-orders will be accepted via the Internet at www.us.aibo.com or by calling the AIBO Adoption Hot Line: toll free 1-888-917-7669 (seven days a week, 24 hours a day).

Additionally, starting June 10 AIBO [ERS-31L] can be purchased at Sony Style stores in San Francisco and New York, as well as the Sony Gallery in Chicago. As part of the third anniversary celebration, those purchasing the new robot during the month of June and while supplies last will receive a free AIBO Life AIBO-ware software package, which allows the owner to raise the robot from an infant to an adult, with their purchase.

¡§AIBO is a home entertainment platform that will evolve as Sony continues to develop and expand artificial intelligence technologies,¡¨ said Victor Matsuda, vice president of the Entertainment Robot America a division of Sony Electronics Inc. ¡§The new robot provides even more entertainment with an attractive price that will excite a new audience of AIBO fans.¡¨

AIBO Pal Special Edition AIBO-ware Software

AIBO Pal Special Edition AIBO-ware software gives robots in the LM series an energetic personality. The software also provides several new features, including:

„X Wake-Up Dance: AIBO wakes up with a special dance as a way of saying good morning;

„X Walk and Explore Snapshots: AIBO will eagerly walk around the room looking for things of interest and when it finds something fun it will snap a photo;

„X 200 plus new moves and dances for AIBO LM series line; and

„X New energetic responses and communication with its owner.

Third Anniversary Road Tour Celebration

In celebration of AIBO¡¦s third anniversary throughout the months of May and June, Sony will be taking the AIBO Orchestra on a nationwide road tour visiting select cities throughout the U.S., where robot fans and music lovers can experience nine AIBOs simultaneously performing Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Scheduled cities include:

Boston: May 18 and May 19 – FAO Schwarz

Chicago: June 8 – Sony Gallery

New York: June 22 – Sony Style

San Francisco: June 29 – Sony Style

About Entertainment Robot America (ERA), Sony Electronics Inc.

Established in January 1999, Entertainment Robot America (ERA) is a divisional company of Sony Electronics Inc. Headquartered in San Diego, ERA maintains sales, marketing and engineering operations in the United States. For more information about AIBO please visit www.us.aibo.com.

infoSync : Sony shows new, cheap AIBO

By: Jørgen Sundgot, Tuesday, 21.05.02 20:27 GMT

If you thought Sony’s AIBO robots were nifty toys before but couldn’t afford their hefty price tags, Sony’s new bulldog slash pug-impersonator AIBO ERS-31L might be for you.

As part of the celebration to commemorate the third anniversary of the first AIBO (ERS-110) Entertainment Robot, originally launched in May 1999, Sony has introduced a new addition to its LM series of four-pawed robots, the AIBO ERS-31L. Cheaper than its previous siblings, the new robot will carry a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $599 USD and will include a new AIBO-ware software package, AIBO Pal Special Edition.

[…]

Sony breeds new Aibo

May 15, 2002 12:15 PM PT

David Becker

Sony announced a new addition Wednesday to the litter of Aibo robot dogs.

The Aibo ERS-31L will sport a new look, similar to a pug or bulldog, and include new features such as digital photo-taking capability, 200 new behaviors and a 75-word vocabulary. The electronic mutt will sell for $599 and will be available starting June 10 at retailers and through Sony’s online store.

ZDNet |UK| – News – Story – Sony lets Aibo off the lead

10:06 Tuesday 7th May 2002

Reuters

In a change of policy towards independent developers, Sony is to release software that allows Aibo owners to modify their electronic pets

Who says you can’t teach an old robotic dog new tricks?

As of next month, Sony will offer free software kits for its plastic pet dog, called Aibo, which will give owners many more training options.

Aibo will even be able to meow rather than bark.

[…]

Chicago Tribune | For some, robot dogs are nearly real thing

By Eric A. Taub

New York Times News Service

Published May 6, 2002

LOS ANGELES — Diane wasn’t well. Sadly, she was suffering from DHS. Her owner, Harry Brattin, placed a white muffler around her neck and separated her from the rest of his brood. She sat quietly on a metal desk in the meeting room while the others scampered around the floor playing.

[…]

So one day recently, as scores of elderly Russian immigrants sat among the trees in Plummer Park here, playing chess and chastising their Americanized grandchildren in their native tongue, Brattin and 14 other Aibo owners met in a community room in the park, primping and preening their robots, giving them commands in English and scolding them when they got into mischief.

[…]

WEB ALERT!

eEye Digital Security



Macromedia Flash Activex Buffer overflow

VIRUS WARNING

Release Date:

05/02/2002

Severity:

High (Remote code execution)

Systems Affected:

Systems with Flash Activex OCX Version 6, revision 23

(Possibly older versions)

This includes most installations of Windows.

Description:

All users of Internet Explorer are potentially affected because this is a Macromedia signed OCX. We advise them to upgrade their Flash version immediately to version 6, revision 29 (see the Vendor Status section below).

http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

Guardian Unlimited Observer | Review | Carry on, Nurse Robot

Sunday April 21, 2002

The Observer

[…]

Humanoids, as they are also called, we learnt on Discovery: Robots are a new generation of robots which will, in time, be able to interpret our moods, recognise our tone and react accordingly, unlike the three-quarters of a million purely mechanical robots working in the car industry.

[…]

Technology News

The Race Towards Robotics

April 18, 2002 08:30 CDT

Domestic robots have long been in the making, but who will emerge as the Bill Gates of robotization? Evolution Robotics in California recently stepped forward. They plan to release an operating system late this year that will bring household robots one giant step closer to reality.

[…]

Robots Are Us: The Mystical Side of Science (and Fiction)

Jeremy Smith, AlterNet – April 12, 2002

[…]

Robots are no longer science fiction metaphors or wish-fulfillment fantasies. According to the United Nations’ World Robotics 2001 survey, there are at least 750,000 units in operation around the world building cars, vacuuming floors, and mowing lawns. These are automated laborsaving devices, more like washing machines than androids. Even the most entertaining and experimental robots today are little more than electrical marionettes — the most autonomous are more akin to insects than to mammals. But governments and corporations are spending billions of dollars each year researching ways to mimic human motion and the human mind with steel and silicon, and they’re getting results.

[…]