Robots: 1; Dogs: 0

March 5th, 2008

Filed under: Robotics

…a challenger to the dog has suddenly surfaced: robots.

Research has proven that in relieving the loneliness of old people, rreal dogs and robot dogs are nearly equally effective.

These findings by researchers at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri were published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

They had a real pooch called Sparky and a Sony robotic dog named AIBO play with 38 nursing home residents for eight weeks.

It took the old folks a week longer to warm up to AIBO than Sparky, but in the end they came to pet and talk to both dogs equally.

According to survey results, the people felt about the same level of emotional bonding and relief from loneliness with each type of dog.

AIBO is the first robotic dog that emulates a real dog¡¯s behavior. Sony began to sell it in 1999 at $2,000 apiece, recording 11,000 units in total sales. The company stopped producing it in 2006.

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{Related: Sony brings the Aibo back to life}