In a recent post on the decline of RadioShack, I suggested that no one repairs electronic devices any more. But The Wall Street Journal cites one exception: Japanese owners are desperate to get their aging Aibo robotic dogs rejuvenated.
Sony built an estimated 150,000 Aibos from 1999 through 2006 but shut down its maintenance services for the robots last March. Takashi Mochizuki and Eric Pfanner in the Journal report that that’s bad news for Yahui and Tatsuo Matsui, who met because of their dogs, Ai and Doggy. The robots, who had a place of honor at the couple’s wedding reception, are now 15 and 13 years old and exhibiting the slowness and stiffness that comes with age.
The couple have joined a support group, where an engineer can make some repairs. For more complex situations, Nobuyuki Norimatsu, a former Sony technician, repairs Aibos at prices starting at about $210. He collects broken Aibos from owners who have died to obtain spare parts.
In the article’s comments section, John Gower predicts that 3D printing will provide a way to make non-electronic spare parts for the Aibos, adding that Arduino boards and crowdsourced code could be used to keep the Aibos running in the event of electronic failures. Adding some perspective, Alonzo Quijana writes that spare parts are not available for his 16-year-old German spitz, suggesting that Aibo owners accept the inevitable.
