PodcastsTechRobotThe Sony Aibo was a robot revolution dressed like a dogOn Version History: How a robot dog became a family member, but not exactly a huge hit.On Version History: How a robot dog became a family member, but not exactly a huge hit.by David PierceNov 15, 2026, 1:57 PM UTCShareGiftDavid Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.In the 1990s, Sony was absolutely convinced that we were on the precipice of a robot takeover. Pretty soon, the company decided, we’d all be living among countless humanoid robots. Some would be our coworkers; others would be our friends; and at least one would be our pet.
And “pet” was exactly what Sony was going for when it created the Aibo. It was supposed to be part of the family.On this episode of Version History, we go back in time and tell the story of the Aibo. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Victoria Song and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and together they discuss the origins of this remarkable robot dog, and its impressive success and longevity. They also try to figure out why Aibo had such an effect on its owners, what Sony got right (and wrong) about robots, and whether the idea of a robo-pet will ever be a global phenomenon.
This is the first episode of the sixth season of Version History. We’re back! This season is all about pets: gadgets that are pets, gadgets for your pets, and one gadget called pet. We’ll be in your feeds for the next six weeks — if you want to be sure not to miss anything, there are a few ways to subscribe:The Version History podcast feedThe Version History YouTube channelOur TikTok and Instagram accountsIf you’re a Verge subscriber, you can also get access to Version History (and all our other podcasts) with no ads.
All you have to do is visit your account settings.If you want to know more about the Aibo, here are some links to get you started:From The New York Times: A Smart Dog With MegabytesFrom Businessweek: This Cute Little Pet Is A RobotFrom IEEE Spectrum: QRIO: The Robot That Could The Robots Guide guide to AiboFrom The Wall Street Journal: In Japan, Dog Owners Feel Abandoned as Sony Stops Supporting ‘Aibo’The Aibo in the Museum of Modern ArtI played with Sony’s new Aibo robot dog, and I miss it alreadyFollow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.David PiercePodcastsRobotTechVersion HistoryMost PopularTesla is inviting some people to buy a Cybercab ‘for personal use’ — but read the fine printJensen Huang and the decline of the visionary showman founder CEOMicrosoft’s massive Outlook outage might be overWork to replace old copper wire led to the FAA’s ground stopHere are our favorite deals from REI’s giant Holiday SaleAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
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