Sony is bringing its iconic Aibo robotic dog back to the U.S. for the first time in more than a decade -- though this time, the pricey gadget will feature some cloud-connected features that make it more expressive and engaging than previous iterations. The U.S. relaunch of Aibo, which was announced Thursday, will be the sixth-generation of the company's line of robotic dogs, first introduced in 1999 and discontinued in 2006. Since re-introducing it in Japan this past January, Sony says it has already sold over 20,000 Aibo units over a seven-month period. The new Aibo, for better or worse, shares a similar design language with its predecessors, though it looks much more like an actual dog thanks to a pair of large, expressive OLED eyes that blink, get drowsy and show anger. Compact motors designed by Sony give Aibo 22 axes of movement, making it much more lifelike than Sony's previous robots -- though traditional dog-based activities, like scratching its ears or stretching its legs, look pretty comical compared to the real thing.

Sales of Sony Corp.'s new artificial intelligence-equipped Aibo robot dog are off to a solid start in Japan, with the electronics giant saying that 11,111 units were sold in the three months since its release in January. Sony said Monday that the new Aibo -- an upgrade of the version launched in 1999 and discontinued in 2006 -- is seeing greater than expected demand, prompting the company to consider boosting output. Sony sold a total of 150,000 of the previous models. The Aibo uses two cameras -- one embedded in its nose and the other above its tail -- and a range of sensors to discern its owner and the environment, expressing itself through body language, barking and its large digital eyes. It carries a price tag of ¥198,000, excluding tax, plus ¥90,000 for a required three-year cloud subscription service.

Between the flooded booths and convention center blackouts, CES 2018 has been kind of a disaster. But for me, at least, one little gadget saved the whole thing by reminding me why the show exists in the first place. Sony is rolling back the years with Aibo, the resurrection of the robot dog line that was one of its most iconic brands during its '90s and 2000s heyday. The new Aibo is quite simply adorable. It has touch sensors on its head, chin, and back so you can pet it.