Evolution of Sony's Aibo: 1999-2006

1990s - Prototypes
The idea of an entertainment robot dog was first concieved by a leading Sony engineer in the early 1990's, a number of prototype robots were created in the following years.

1999 - ERS-110
The first Aibo was released in 1999, model ERS-110, it was the first entertainment robot to be produced and sold to the public.

The ERS-110 was soon succeeded by the ERS-111, which looked pretty much the same, we like the floppy ears on the 310 & 311.

2000 - ERS-210
The second generation Aibo was the ERS-210, released in 2000, it introduced touch sensors, and voice, sound & face recognition technology to the Aibo line. It does look a bit feline opposed to canine though, with its pointy ears & tail.

This model had huge sales success and lots of different colours available.

2001 - ERS-311/312
Cutesy 'Latte' and 'Macaron', or models ERS-311 & 312, were introduced in 2001 and was a new look for Aibo. Rather than replacing the former Aibo's, these were additions to the Aibo family, many were bought by people who were already Aibo owners.

They were also joined by the caramel brown ERS-31L in May 2002.

Aibo ERS-311 & 312, named Latte & Macaron, released in 2001.

2001 - ERS-220
Later in 2001, the model ERS-220 was launched with a hi-tech new look and much improved environment sensors.

Slight departure from the dog look though, bit dinosaur-like, if dinosaurs were silver and had lights.

2003 - ERS-7
The ERS-7 was a huge leap for the technology, released in 2003 it included wireless network connectivity for linking to computers, and vastly improved interactivity - including many 'facial expressions' using an array of LED's in the front of it's head.

Definitely the best looking Aibo of the lot in our opinion, with the original 1999 model a close second.