Are you sick of buying dog food and flea collars, taking midnight walks and being just like everyone else by having a living pet? Do you have money to spend on useless, stupid things? If so, Sony Corp has created something just for you – a prototype robot dog that can walk, sit, roll over and engage in a variety of other movements, according to a report in The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The mechanical canine can apparently perform different movements by changing major components such as limbs and memory cards that record action patterns. The report goes on to say that in addition to playing with its human owner, the robot can interact with other robot pets – even competing in games against one another. A function-expansion card will also offer those who wish to run a kennel for automatons the ability command multiple robots using a remote control. Sony figures it will have a marketable product by 2000 and, sadly enough, the market will probably exist.
