With sleek metallic bodywork and a Cyclops eye, it doesn't look much like a flesh-and-blood dog. And yet, watching Sony's robotic pooch gambol and lark around, it's hard not to be moved by its puppyish charms. Its name is Aibo, which means "companion" in Japanese. It can walk, sit, sleep, beg and perform lots of other convincingly dog-like actions. But is it good enough to fool a real dog? That's what Adam Miklosi wondered when he saw Aibo in action. As an expert in dog behaviour and cognition, he was well placed to find out. So, last year, he invited Aibo, together with robot developer Frederic Kaplan from Sony's labs in Paris, to visit him at Eoetvoes University in Budapest, Hungary, for some close encounters of the canine kind. The outcome, unfortunately, was a let-down for Miklosi. Real dogs barely gave Aibo a second glance (see "Dog eat dog world", p 46). But the trip to Hungary wasn't a complete waste of time. As a result of meeting real dogs, Aibo has learned some new tricks, and its creators have fresh insights into our relationship with robots.
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