Sony AIBO LIFE ERF-210AW01 User manual

Printed in Japan
*465202911 (1) *
AIBO Life ERF-210AW01
© 2000 Sony Corporation
English
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4-652-029-11(1)

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Notice to Users
©2000 Sony Corporation All rights
reserved. This manual and the software
described herein, in whole or in part,
may not be reproduced, translated or
reduced to any machine-readable form
without prior written approval.
EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY SET
FORTH IN THE SOFTWARE LICENSE
AGREEMENT, SONY CORPORATION
PROVIDES THIS MANUAL, THE
SOFTWARE AND THE OTHER
INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN “AS IS” WITH NO
WARRANTY AND HEREBY
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY
NONINFRINGEMENT OR FITNESS
FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE
WITH REGARD TO THIS MANUAL,
THE SOFTWARE, OR SUCH OTHER
INFORMATION. IN NO EVENT
SHALL SONY CORPORATION BE
LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL
DAMAGES, WHETHER BASED ON
TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE
ARISING OUT OF OR IN
CONNECTION WITH THIS
MANUAL, THE SOFTWARE, OR
OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN OR THE USE THEREOF.
Sony Corporation reserves the right to
make any modification to this manual
or the information contained herein at
any time without notice.
The software described herein may also
be governed by the terms of a separate
user license agreement.
This product contains software owned
by Sony and licensed from third parties.
Use of such software is subject to the
terms and conditions of license
agreements enclosed with this product.
Software specifications are subject to
change without notice and may not
necessarily be identical to current retail
versions.

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Before using this software, please read the accompanying End-User License
agreement which governs use of this software.
En
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Customer Support
How to contact the AIBO Customer Link.
In the United States
1-800-427-2988
Email address:
[email protected].com
In Europe
English line: [phone]
German line: [phone]
French line: [phone]
Email address:
[email protected]
In Hong Kong
[phone]
Email address:
[email protected].com.hk
In Singapore
[phone]
Email address:
[email protected].com

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“OPEN-R” is the standard interface for the entertainment robot
system that Sony is actively promoting. This interface expands
the capability of the entertainment robot through a flexible
combination of hardware and interchangeable software to suit
various applications.
“AIBO” ERS-210 and AIBO-ware ERF-210AW01 conform to
the OPEN-R version 1.1.
“AIBO,” the AIBO logo , “OPEN-R,” and the OPEN-R logo are
registered trademarks of Sony Corporation.
“Memory Stick,” “ ,” and “ ” are trademarks of Sony
Corporation.
Other information about AIBO is available on the Internet at the following
site: http://www.aibo.com/
“Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All rights
reserved.”

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Table of Contents
Getting started
About AIBO Life .............................................................................8
About AIBO-ware ..................................................................... 8
AIBO’s autonomous activities................................................... 8
AIBO is a robot. Why does it have to be raised? ...................... 9
AIBO’s modes and conditions ................................................. 10
AIBO’s emotions ..................................................................... 14
AIBO’s instincts ...................................................................... 15
Getting to know AIBO............................................................. 16
Living with AIBO
Charging AIBO’s battery pack .......................................................20
When you want to charge AIBO ............................................. 20
When AIBO wants to be charged ............................................ 21
Sleeping and waking up .................................................................22
When you want AIBO to sleep................................................ 22
When AIBO wants to sleep ..................................................... 23
Waking AIBO .......................................................................... 23
WakingAIBO at a specified time ............................................ 24
Communicating with AIBO
From you to AIBO .........................................................................26
Communicating by touch ........................................................ 26

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Communicating visually.......................................................... 28
Communicating by voice......................................................... 29
Helping AIBO to get up........................................................... 31
Having AIBO take a photo.................................................................. 32
From AIBO to you .........................................................................34
Lights ....................................................................................... 34
Sounds ..................................................................................... 36
Gestures ................................................................................... 36
Raising AIBO
Growing up.....................................................................................40
Babyhood................................................................................. 40
The later stages ........................................................................ 42
Finding out AIBO’s maturation stage...................................... 44
Learning .........................................................................................45
Learning what is good and what is bad ................................... 45
Learning its name .................................................................... 46
Additional information
Notes on use ...................................................................................50
Service procedure (For the Customers in the U.S.A.)....................52
Troubleshooting .............................................................................53
For more information about “AIBO” ERS-210 (name of parts,
settings, “Memory Stick” use, safety precautions, etc.), please refer to
the “AIBO” ERS-210 operating instructions.

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Getting Started
Getting Started
Welcome toAIBO Life, a software application that helps you to
raise your AIBO into an entertainment robot that’s just right for
you.
This chapter provides basic information aboutAIBO, including
its six emotions and five instincts. You will find that gaining an
awareness of these emotions and instincts will be the key to
good communication with AIBO.
So before you start your life together, read this chapter to find
out what AIBO is and what it can do.

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About AIBO Life
About AIBO-ware
AIBO by itself is capable of only the most basic movements. For more
complicated operations, AIBO must be loaded with AIBO-ware that comes on
a “Memory Stick.”It isAIBO-ware that gives AIBO its capabilities and
character, so you might think of it as AIBO’s “mind.”By combining AIBO
with different AIBO-ware and peripheral devices, AIBO can be enjoyed in a
variety of ways. AIBO Life is AIBO-ware that allows AIBO to move around
autonomously and helps you to raise AIBO into the kind of companion that is
best for you.
AIBO’s autonomous activities
AIBO comes with all the necessary hardware, such as a brain, sensors,
actuators and power supply, to move about on its own. What AIBO Life adds is
a set of emotions, instincts, learning ability and the capacity to mature.
Through AIBO Life, AIBO can act according to its own judgements, all the
while expressing emotions, collecting information from you and its
environment, learning and maturing. With AIBO Life, AIBO will let you know
by gesture and sound when it wants you to play with it, and may even go about
looking for you. On the other hand, when something catches AIBO’s attention,
it may ignore you even when you call its name. The key to getting along with
AIBO then is to understand its autonomous nature, and to help it learn and
grow.

9
Getting Started
AIBO is a robot. Why does it have to be
raised?
The reason is that AIBO was born to live together with people. AIBO is
capable of autonomous action based on external information from its various
sensors and from internal motivations (i.e., its emotions and instincts).
Nevertheless,AIBO will not be too self-centered and will always entertain
you.
AIBO Life gives AIBO the capacity to mature so that it can react to your
actions and its surroundings. For example, if you talk and play with AIBO a
lot, AIBO will grow to be sociable. If you prefer to simply watch AIBO, AIBO
will become independent and wander around as it waits for you to play with it.
In short,AIBO Life makes it possible for AIBO to adjust to you as it lives with
you and matures. We hope AIBO will become a good partner for you.

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AIBO’s modes and conditions
AIBO Life provides AIBO with a number of modes and conditions.
Autonomous mode
AIBO moves around on its own.
Rest mode
AIBO stops moving around.
Press the head
sensor for 3
seconds.
Press the back
sensor for 3
seconds.
Press the chin and back sensors at the
same time for 3 seconds.
Something is caught in AIBO’s
leg joints.
Lift AIBO up.
Press the chin sensor for 3 seconds,
or when the battery level is low.
On
Off

11
Getting Started
Press the head
sensor for 3
seconds.
Place AIBO on
the floor or press
AIBO’s head
sensor for 3
seconds.
Press the head
sensor for 3
seconds.
Gently shake
AIBO’s body.
Sleep mode
Jam
condition
Pick-up
condition
Station
transfer
mode
Station mode
AIBO’s joints become loose when
something gets caught in them.
Flashing
When Energy Station*
is used.
Flashing Remove from
Energy Station.
Place on Energy
Station
Flashing
*Energy Station is an
optional accessory.
Off

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xAutonomous mode
This is AIBO’s normal mode. AIBO carries out various actions based on its
own will.
xRest mode
AIBO stops walking around. To switch AIBO to this mode, press its back
sensor for more than 3 seconds. The mode indicator turns on andAIBO lies
down or sits down.
To return AIBO to autonomous mode, press its head sensor for more than 3
seconds.
Notes
•Do not put AIBO on an unstable surface where it might fall or be subjected to
vibrations.
•Do not place things near AIBO that may obstruct its movements.
xSleep mode
To change AIBO to sleep mode, press its chin sensor and back sensor at the
same time for more than 3 seconds. AIBO will stop moving. If you gently
shake AIBO’s body, it will wake up. AIBO may also wake up by itself and
start moving around.
xJam condition
If something gets jammed in any of AIBO’s joints, AIBO changes to this
condition and all of its joints become loose. The mode indicator flashes at this
time.

13
Getting Started
To return AIBO to autonomous mode, press its head sensor for more than 3
seconds.
xPick-up condition
AIBO changes to this condition when you pick it up. Its legs loosen to make it
easier to hold AIBO while its head and tail continue moving in a cute way and
the mode indicator flashes.
To return AIBO to autonomous mode, put it on the floor. If it doesn’t return to
autonomous mode after a while, press its head sensor for more than 3 seconds.
xStation transfer mode (for use with the optional Energy
Station)
In this mode, AIBO assumes the “charging posture”(page 20) that allows it to
be placed on the optional Energy Station (referred to as the “station”
hereafter). If you leave AIBO alone for five or more minutes without placing it
on the station, it will return to autonomous mode.
xStation mode
After being placed on the station, AIBO continues to make various
movements, but cannot dismount from the station on its own.

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AIBO’s emotions
AIBO has six emotions: joy, sadness, anger,
surprise, fear, and discontent. These emotions
will change in response to a variety of factors,
affecting AIBO’s behavior and maturation as a
result. Listed below are common scenarios in
which AIBO may be seen expressing emotions.
Joy: When AIBO is immersed in a favorite activity, receives approval,
finds its favorite color or plays with a ball.
Sadness: When AIBO cannot find anyone to play with or doesn’t have its
ball or something else that it likes.
Anger: When AIBO finds a color that it dislikes, is left on the station
when it is ready to assume activity, or is admonished.
Surprise: When the ball suddenly appears before AIBO, or when it hears
a loud noise.
Fear: When AIBO finds itself before a steep drop, or is unable to get up
from a fall.
Discontent: When someone shows a color that it dislikes, or when its
anger towards someone escalates.
AIBO expresses these emotions through its eye lights and sounds, as well as its
tail light and body language. For details, see pages 34 to 38.
Joy
Surprise
Sadness
Anger
Fear
Discontent

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Getting Started
AIBO’s instincts
AIBO has five key instincts that provide motivation
for its actions: love instinct, search instinct,
movement instinct, recharge instinct, and sleep
instinct.
Love instinct: AIBO is naturally inclined to interact with people who
will give it care. If left alone for an extended period of time,AIBO will
feel an urge to play.
Search instinct: AIBO is a fun-loving, curious robotic creature who
enjoys discovering new things, satisfying its curiosity. If AIBO does
not see its favorite color or if it does not sense any movement in its
surroundings for a long period of time, it will become restless and will
look for something new.
Movement instinct: AIBO enjoys moving around, playing and having
new experiences. If idle for an extended period of time, AIBO will start
to move around on its own.
Recharge instinct: For survival,AIBO is well aware that it must “eat.”
Lithium ion batteries are on the bill of fare for AIBO and battery power
is craved almost like clockwork throughout the day between activities.
When AIBO is low on battery power, it will request to be charged and
will change to the charging posture on its own.

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Sleep instinct:AIBO has a natural rhythm that alternates between sleep and
activity, and so it has an instinct that makes it desire sleep. This rhythm
changes according to AIBO’s stage of maturation and the life pattern that is
established between you and AIBO.
In response to its instincts, AIBO behaves in a manner that will satisfy its
particular desires. If a desire is fulfilled, it will be pleased. If a desire is left
unsatisfied, emotions such as fear or anger will grow within it.
Getting to know AIBO
First of all, let’s get AIBO ready to move.
1 Grasp AIBO securely by the body, turn
it upside down, and open its stomach
cover.
Notes
•Lift AIBO by the body, and not by its extremities.
•Do not touch the charging terminal with your hand. Doing so may soil the
terminal and cause poor contact.

17
Getting Started
2 Insert the supplied AIBO Life
“Memory Stick” in the direction of the
arrow with the label side towards the
rear part of the body.
Note
Do not set the safety switch of the “Memory Stick”to
“LOCK.”Doing so will make it impossible forAIBO’s
learning and maturation functions to work.
3 Insert the battery pack supplied with
AIBO in the direction of the arrow until
it clicks into place. Then close the
stomach cover.
4 SetAIBO’s clock and adjust its volume level of the musical tone.
For details, see the “AIBO”ERS-210 operating instructions.
Push down here.

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5 Place AIBO on the floor as shown on
the right.
Place it on a flat, non-slippery surface, such as
a carpet with a short nap. And choose a quiet
place so that AIBO can hear whatever you say
to it.
Note
Be sure to place AIBO on the floor as shown above. This will preventAIBO
from moving unexpectedly and being damaged when you press and release the
pause button to start AIBO moving.
6 Press the pause button onAIBO’s chest.
Pause mode ends and the chest light will light
up green. After a little while, AIBO will begin
to move.

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Living with AIBO
Living with AIBO
This chapter explains AIBO’s feeding (charging) and sleeping
(sleep mode) habits. The first thing you should do, however, is
set AIBO’s clock and adjust the volume level of the musical
tone that it emits. For details, see the “AIBO”ERS-210
operating instructions.

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Charging AIBO’s battery pack
AIBO operates on battery power, so the battery pack should be recharged
whenever it grows weak.
Since the battery pack is only partially charged at the factory, the first thing
you should do is charge it.AIBO can operate for about 1.5 hours (in
autonomous mode) with a fully charged ERA-201B1 Lithium Ion Battery
Pack.
When you want to charge AIBO
xCharging with the AC adaptor
Before you start charging the battery pack, press the pause button to make
AIBO stop moving. For details, see the “AIBO”ERS-210 operating
instructions.
xCharging with the Energy Station (optional)
1 Press AIBO’s chin sensor for more than
3 seconds.
The mode indicator flashes and AIBO changes
to the charging posture.
Charging posture