Owners of the AIBO electronic dog are barking mad about the decision to euthanize the robot pooch. With his outfit making a comeback, CEO Howard Stringer has other priorities
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The heartbreaking news to AIBO owners worldwide was scarcely noticed last week. That's because all eyes were focused on the remarkable earnings rebound at Sony (SNE), the world's second-biggest consumer electronics maker.
Thanks to better-than-expected performance of its smash-hit Bravia LCD televisions and PlayStation game players, the outfit shifted its full-year forecast Jan. 26 from a loss to a $602 million profit. As a result of the improved outlook, Sony's stock price has soared some 60%, to about $50 a share, since last August.
Yet capitalism can be cruel. And top dog Stringer gets paid to make tough calls. One of them was rubbing out the adorable AIBO, which a few years back was a must-have toy for some well-heeled digerati. The same day Sony released those boffo numbers, it also indicated it will deep-six most of its recreational robotics division, which includes the AIBO series of robotic dogs launched in 1999.
DOG'S LIFE -- AND DEATH. Sony will also pull the plug on the QRIO, a humanoid robot that was never sold commercially, but which can walk on two legs, dance, recognize people's faces and carry on something resembling a conversation.
Not all of the work with robots will go to waste. Though Sony won't disclose how much it invested in the electronic/mechanical creatures or whether they ever earned a profit, developing them did spin off ideas useful to other company divisions. "We will continue research into the artificial intelligence that came out of the robot work for possible future consumer electronics," says Sony spokesman Daichi Yamafuji.
Stringer probably had little choice but to lower the curtain on AIBO. His top priority has been to cut costs and free up every available yen in capital to pursue sexy new product developments in the company's core consumer electronics segment. His three-year revival plan, launched last September, will likely slash 10,000 jobs and close 11 factories.
POOCHY-COOCHY-COO. And AIBO isn't alone on the chopping block: Stringer has also said he'll dump Sony's cathode-ray tube and plasma TV operations, given their bleak outlook. In any event, the robotics division kicked in only $40 million to $80 million in revenues, so the move makes sense, says Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Koya Tabata. "They decided to pull out of the robot operation because it doesn't fit their merchandise strategy," says Tabata.
Maybe so, but some of the 150,000 or so AIBO owners are barking mad at what they view as Sony's cold-heartedness. After BusinessWeek Online contacted a Japanese Web site, the AIBO Report Forum, one member who goes by the online moniker Haru-kun wrote, "I'm naturally surprised, angry, and sad with the news.... AIBO is no different from a living pet."
Indeed, the third-generation AIBO, introduced just last September at a retail price of about $1,600, does have some impressive features. The digital pooch can recognize scores of words -- from basics such as "sit" and "fetch" to deeper emotional concepts -- via microphones embedded in its ears. It has touch sensors on its back, allowing it to respond when you pet it. A camera in its eye lets it recognize its owner and records images that can be downloaded to a PC. And by inserting a memory stick with new software into the AIBO, owners can reprogram the digital dog's basic personality from lovable to, say, mischievous.
SCREWING THE POOCH. While Sony has pulled out of entertainment robots, other Japanese companies are moving ahead with humanoid robot concepts. Mitsubishi, Honda, (HMC) and Toyota (TM) all have machines under development that could someday serve as companions and handle routine housework.
Whether this brave new world of recreational robots will ever live up to the hype remains to be seen. Yet Sony's digital mutt will certainly earn an interesting footnote in the history of this industry's evolution. It seems to have brought joy and companionship to owners around the world -- and it never needed to be house-broken, either. May the little fellow rest in peace.
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