Sony will help find its 'ageing' robot dogs a new home

Like dogs, robot dogs ages, and Sony, for its range of Aibo robot dogs, has introduced a foster program to help the old robot dogs find new homes.

Sony is launching a new sustainability program in Japan for its line of Aibo autonomous robot dogs, the “Aibo foster parent program,” to help owners who have cancelled their Aibo Cloud Plan donate the robot dogs to a worthy cause.

Under the "Aibo Foster Parent" program, owners whose basic plans have been cancelled can donate their robot dogs back to Sony. These Aibos will then be refurbished as necessary and donated to medical facilities, foster homes, and other organisations. The program aims to make Aibo more sustainable and to provide emotional support to people in need. By giving these robot dogs a second home, Sony hopes to make a positive impact on the lives of those who interact with them.

It will be testing and repairing ERS-1000 units donated to the program before providing them to medical facilities and nursing homes. Sony notes that these organisations could benefit from emotional support robots like Aibo. Though this will not be free, Sony says that it plans to charge Aibo "foster parents" a fee for the service, which has not been disclosed. The donations would be used to help maintain and repair other Aibo units, depending on their condition.