But people can pretty much decide what they want it to be. The new Aibo is a big draw at Comdex. The plastic pet is attracting crowds so large, people at the back are complaining they can't even see what's on display. The booth handed out more than 8,000 brochures on the first day and the Aibo website is having problems handling all the traffic, Piazza said. Piazza said Sony hopes the new Aibo will be even better than its predecessor at eliciting strong bonds of attachment from its owner.
People refer to it as a living, organic creature.
They call it by name and take it to the store or on vacation. With this one, it's going to be even stronger because it has voice recognition. It can also be conditioned. Behaviors like playing and dancing can be positively reinforced with gentle strokes to touch sensors located on the Aibo's head, back and under its chin. But sharp taps to the touch sensors act as negative reinforcement and will eventually eliminate the behavior altogether.