After 12-year wait, Sony relaunches robot dog Aibo to much fanfare

Sony Corp. relaunched the Aibo on Thursday, with fans expressing excitement at the second unleashing of the digital robot dog. The gadget's revival is not just a simple product relaunch but a symbol of Sony's recent resurgence as it vies to play a leading role in the robot market expected to bloom in the coming years, analysts said. "It's been about a year and half since we started developing the new Aibo . . . the day where we can provide it to new owners with confidence has finally come," said Izumi Kawanishi, who oversees Sony's artificial intelligence and robotics group, at a promotional event held at Sony's headquarters in Tokyo. New owners who received their Aibos at the event did not hesitate to show their joy. "I was very happy to finally get my Aibo," said an owner who only identified himself as Yamashita.