Robot Dogs vs. Robot Bugs
from the sounds-like-a-science-fiction-movie dept
It sounds like the premise of a bad science fiction movie. Robot dogs battling robot bugs. However, that's what's happening - at least in a war for consumers' dollars this holiday season. While the Aibo robot dog is still popular (at least among some people who they're not threatening with lawsuits), it seems that they may be threatened in the sales department by these new robotic B.I.O. Bugs, which seem to be cooler, smarter, and cheaper. In fact, while the plastic dogs will cost you around $1,000 just for the low-end, the bugs go for about $40 each. The main difference is that the bugs are behavioral robots that are designed to react to the world around them. They don't have powerful processors and coded actions like the Aibo's do. The article discusses the differences between the two. The bugs do sound cool, if a bit creepy. The future, of course, is combining the two types of robotics into a robot that can do both. Maybe we can teach them to respond negatively to idiotic lawsuits, then.
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