Toei Collaborates With Sony’s Aibo For Two Episodes of Kamen Rider Zero-One

The official Kamen Rider Zero-One twitter page announced that Toei has collaborated with Sony’s robotic dog AIBO  which will be used in the next two episodes of Kamen Rider Zero-One.

Note: This article contains spoilers for episodes 38 and 39 of Kamen Rider Zero-One

Sony’s robotic dog AIBO will be a central part of episode 38 and 39 of Kamen Rider Zero-One. Sony began the development of AIBO in 1998 with the first release being in 1999. Every year since then and up until 2006, Sony released new models improving its technology while refining the dog-like appearance which has been inspired by several breeds such as Huskies, Jack Russel Terriers, and Bull Terriers. Sony announced in 2006 that AIBO was being discontinued, however in 2017, they announced a new model to be released in 2018 which is the one used in the upcoming episodes of Kamen Rider Zero-One.

AIBO is programmed to mimic real-life dogs with facial expressions, learnable tricks and gestures, voice recognition, and smart AI technology to take in its environment. The cost of purchasing AIBO is $2,899.99 with other accessories available for purchase separately.

In Kamen Rider Zero-One Episodes 38-39, it is revealed that Gai Amatsu/Kamen Rider Thouser had a very sad and tough childhood. This awful childhood is tied to his strict father being hard on him about his education. Gai uses a robotic dog companion, the AIBO, to get through his sadness. He eventually names the dog Thouser and loves him. However, Gai stands up for himself one day when his father chastises him and vows to never rely on anyone, especially artificial intelligence, again. After hearing about this, Aruto Hiden creates and gifts him a new version of Thouser which leads to a change in heart for Gai. This ultimately leads to Gai fighting alongside Aruto to defeat the Ark, who is now in the form of Kamen Rider Ark-Zero.

Source: Kamen Rider Zero-One Official Twitter, Aibo US Website