索尼上周三表示，將重新推出已經銷聲匿跡逾10年的AIBO機器狗，原因是:經過幾年的重組后，這家電子和娛樂企業希望重振自己的創新聲譽。

發布公告的前一天，索尼預測本財年利潤將創歷史新高，從而證實自己已經復蘇，并推動自身股價攀升至九年來的最高點。索尼同時確認了此前猜測這個“寵物項目”將復活的報道。

AIBO的宣傳定位是寵物，行為像真正的狗，借助人工智能來學習并和自己的主人以及環境互動。升級后的AIBO采用了新的傳感和運動技術，人工智能也比以前先進得多，而且將在云計算支持下發展自己的個性。

這款產品定于明年1月在日本上市，售價19.8萬日元（約11484元人民幣）。

1999年，索尼推出AIBO寵物狗，借此率先進入娛樂機器人領域。該產品在日本售出了大約15萬只。七年后，索尼的核心消費電子業務因與亞洲新興對手的價格戰而陷入困境，AIBO機器狗隨之停產。

索尼首席執行官平井一夫在新聞通氣會上表示：“2006年終止這個項目是個艱難的決定，但我們一直在進行人工智能和機器人開發。”

“一年半以前，我讓索尼的工程師們開發（新的）AIBO機器狗，因為我堅信能和人建立親密關系的機器人有助于實現索尼（去啟迪）的愿景。”

重生的AIBO機器狗采用了新的驅動技術，行為更加流暢和自然，就像真正的狗一樣。傳感和人工智能技術讓它能夠跑向自己的主人，識別氣味和贊揚的話語，并記住那些可以取悅主人的行為。用OLED（有機發光二極管）制作的眼睛讓它能做出多種表情。

索尼的目標是讓新款AIBO機器狗的銷量至少達到老款的水平，但未說明將在多長時間內實現。該公司還表示，正考慮在海外銷售這款產品。

索尼認為人工智能是未來增長的基石，并希望跟上主要科技公司的腳步，比如Facebook、蘋果公司和谷歌。

去年索尼向美國人工智能初創企業Cogitai投入了一筆資金，但未披露具體金額，該初創公司開發的技術主要是：允許機器通過和真實世界的互動來不斷地進行自主學習。索尼還成立了一只風投基金，目的是和人工智能與機器人領域的研究人員以及初創公司建立合作關系。

今年早些時候，索尼國際教育推出了首款產品Koov，這個塑料積木機器人旨在通過搭建和編程教孩子們編寫代碼。 （財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Japan’s Sony Corp said on Wednesday it has brought back AIBO more than a decade since it last made the robotic dog, as the electronics and entertainment firm seeks to rebuild its reputation for innovation after years of restructuring.

The announcement comes a day after Sony confirmed its renaissance by forecasting its highest-ever profit this financial year, sending its shares surging to a nine-year high. And it confirms previous reportsspeculating that Sony would revive the “pet project.”

AIBO is billed as a pet that behaves like a real dog using artificial intelligence (AI) to learn and interact with its owner and surroundings. The upgrade sees AIBO equipped with new sensing and movement technologies as well as far more advanced AI backed by cloud computing to develop the dog’s personality.

Sales begin in Japan in January for 198,000 yen ($1,739).

Sony pioneered entertainment robots with AIBO in 1999. It sold about 150,000 dogs in Japan before ceasing production seven years later when its core consumer electronics business struggled in price wars with emerging Asian rivals.

“It was a difficult decision to stop the project in 2006, but we continued development in AI and robotics,” Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai said at a news briefing.

“I asked our engineers a year and a half ago to develop (new) AIBO because I strongly believe robots capable of building loving relationships with people help realise Sony‘s mission (to inspire).”

The reborn AIBO features new actuator technology allowing it move more smoothly and naturally like a real dog. With sensing and AI technologies, AIBO can run toward its owner and detect smiles and words of praise, and can remember what actions please the owner. Its eyes are made of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays making it capable of diverse expressions.

Sony said it aims to sell at least as many new AIBO as the original, without giving a time frame. It also said it is considering overseas sales.

The firm sees AI as a future pillar of growth, hoping to catch up with major technology companies such as Facebook Inc , Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.

It invested an undisclosed sum last year in Cogitai, a U.S. AI start-up focusing on technology that allows machines to learn continually and autonomously from interaction in the real world. It also established a venture capital fund to build partnerships with researchers and start-up companies in AI and robotics.

Earlier this year, Sony Education launched its first product, Koov, which aims to teach children coding through building and programming robots using plastic blocks.