This article addresses the issues of colour classification and collision de- tection as they occur in the legged league robot soccer environment of RoboCup. We show how the method of one-class classification with sup- port vector machines (SVMs) can be applied to solve these tasks satisfac- torily using the limited hardware capacity of the prescribed Sony AIBO quadruped robots. The experimental evaluation shows an improvement over our previous methods of ellipse fitting for colour classification and the statistical approach used for collision detection.

Sony's robotic Aibo pup continues to learn new tricks. Thanks to a new software update, the android companion will now predict when you come home and sit patiently at the front door. According to Sony's website, you'll first need to assign a meeting place -- the entrance to your front home -- by saying a phrase like "this is where you should go." Aibo should then lower its head and'sniff' the ground to indicate that it's storing the location. If the process is successful, a door icon should appear on the map located inside the companion app.

Sony said Wednesday it will roll out a new robot dog on Jan. 11, 2018, the year of the dog, that will be packed with the latest robotic technologies, including sensors to help it recognize its environment, and artificial intelligence to help it "think," plus the mechanics to act on its thoughts. Sony said the new robot will be able to respond to human calls and will be a loving companion to families. The robot will grow more intelligent over time by collecting, learning from and storing information from its owners. It will have a price tag of 198,000 yen ($1,740) plus tax. Sony has not disclosed a sales target. For another 2,980 yen, masters can give their pet an aibone, a bone-shaped toy accessory.