The pet robot AIBO was born at Sony in 1999 as the world’s first home-entertainment robot. About 150,000 robots were built but production and sales ended in 2006 and technical support was also discontinued in 2014. Today former Sony engineers provide unofficial maintenance services for owners who remain firmly attached to their AIBO robots.
Innovative 3D-printing technology is used to make the robot safe to play music with: As a true virtuoso, the robot is focused on its music rather than the people around it, so we have it wear a soft, inflatable, AirSkin that was custom-fit through 3D-printing.
Chico MacMurtrie is well known for his large-size robotic sculptures. For the Landesgartenschau in Kremsmünster (Garden Show of the State of Upper Austria) Chico MacMurtrie created Pneuma Fountain, a 4-meter-tall, 16-meter-wide inflatable robotic sculpture which is placed right in the middle of the Kremsmünster Monastery’s baroque courtyard. The tour consists of a presentation from the artist himself.