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
PRNewswire
SAN DIEGO
05/15/2002
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™ 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 http://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:
-- Wake-Up Dance: AIBO wakes up with a special dance as a way of saying
good morning;
-- 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;
-- 200 plus new moves and dances for AIBO LM series line; and
-- 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 http://www.us.aibo.com/ .
* Please consult http://www.us.aibo.com/ for exact times and locations of AIBO
Orchestra performances.
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SOURCE: Sony Electronics Inc.
Contact: Jon Piazza of Sony Electronics Inc., +1-858-942-3825,
Jon.piazza@am.sony.com; or Doug Piwinski, or Lou Casale, or Danielle Dorfman,
all of Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, +1-310-274-7800, for Sony Electronics Inc.