AIBO Rises from the Dead

The news is all over Engadget and the UK version of Gamespot [the image at left, meanwhile, came from an issue of Stuff Magazine]: A new Sony AIBO robotic dog called the AIBO PS is on its way and it's designed to work with Sony's Portable PlayStation and PlayStation 3.

If true, this would truly be a resurrection, since Sony killed its robotics division (including the AIBO and humanoid QRIO) in the fall of 2006.

Many of the new features breathlessly reported on blogs and Gamespot existed in previous AIBOs, including wireless control, built-in camera, motion sensors and facial recognition.

If this product is real, Sony simply ported existing AIBO Mind software to the PSP platform and, I assume, the PS3 platform as well.

Plus the whole idea that AIBO can somehow rescue the PSP is utter nonsense.

The big deal is that it can stream video over WiFi to your PSP
That's cool, I guess.

That platform will live or die on its own steam.

I'd love to believe that, but Sony's not saying anything and the company ultimately ended up treating AIBO like an unwanted step child.

I used to be able to control my AIBO wirelessly via my PC.

I'm skeptical, however.