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ERS-210 - The Second Generation Aibo

Original Price lists:

ERS-210 £1,059 (including tax) - 150,000 yen

ERS-210A (Launched May 25): 150,000 yen (excluding tax)

Self-Charging, Face Tracking and Human Speech with 'AIBO Recognition'

The 210 was the first Aibo capable of self charging and recognising human faces thanks to the experimental 'AIBO Recognition' software kit introduced later in the 210's lifespan. These features were primitive yet important first steps for Sony to develop the key features which would later become a staple of the ERS-7.

The software could be purchased without the self-charging kit (composed of the pole and mat seen connected to the 210 station).

Special Limited Edition 210/210A Robots

2nd Anniversary ERS-210 // Mazeran Green,

Sony launched three limited edition colour-shift ERS-210s to celebrate the success of the Aibo program and to mark the second anniversary of the original Aibo model. The paint used is 'Mezora' by Nippon Paints - these special paints are no longer manufactured and were usually limited to use on sports cars, but appeared on these Aibo models as well as a SE SEGA Dreamcast released around the same time. The anniversary models also come with 'rainbow' mirror visors.

These units are pre-supercore era, so heads are prone to DHS/TAS/PAS.

ERS-210 // Spring Orange + Spring White

The first SE colour ERS-210s which were only made avalible for 20 days (1st-20th March).

These units are pre-supercore era, so heads are prone to DHS/TAS/PAS. The Spring White has a normal black visor unlike the later Holiday White which has the green/yellow Aurora mirror visor. These colours were never made available outside of Japan.

Bonus 'spring' demo software was supplied free with these aibos in a bright orange box. The software was later made available to download on the Japanese Net de Aiboware website.

ERS-210A // Holiday Red + Holiday White

Holiday White has the green/yellow Aurora mirror visor for the Holiday White and a red-green visor for the Holiday Red, unlike the prior Spring White which has a normal black visor.

Parts from these limited editions were available as part of the 'My Select' program due to being released around the same time. So it is possible to buy a My Select that resembles the Holiday 210s - the best way to distinguish is by checking the core's serial number.

ERS-210A // Cyber blue

The Cyber Blue was the last new ERS-210 colour (not counting the My Select) before the unveiling of the ERS-7. They were sold in very limited numbers and are the most sort-after 210 due to its striking blue coloration and unique blue mirror visor. While the release coincided with Aibo's 3rd Anniversary, the Cyber Blue was actually created to be a tie-in with the new Docomo SO505i matching phone which came with AIBO EYES to remotely interact with the 210 if it had the optional WLAN card and AIBO EYES Aiboware installed.

My Select Aibo

'My Select' was a custom order program ran by Sony at the end of the 210's lifecycle. Customers could 'build their own' Aibo out of different color parts via the specialised order site. People could choose parts from Holiday Red, Holiday White and well as the three standard 210 colours and different special edition visors. They were on sale the same time as the holiday red and white 210As, hence why they these colour pars were made avaliable.

A prize draw was held during the introduction of the My Select service where people could fill in an online form and win autographed illustrations from Anime artists Monkey Punch (Lupin III) and Machiko Satonaka (Heavenly Rainbow).

Contents of the gift:
◆Monkey Punch's autographed colored paper for 3 people
・ Colored paper depicting “Lupin III” … 2 people
・Colored paper depicting Lupine the 3rd character “Fujiko Mine” … 1 person
Autographed colored paper by Machiko Satonaka for 1 person

Customers also had the bonus of being able to select a 'black mirror visor' that was limited to My Select, and choose to add metallic blue, light blue, red, gold, silver, beige, white and metallic brown ears/tail that were introduced at this time.

Unfortunately sample images of the ear and tails have been lost, but they can easily noticed in My Select images.

My Select was available for a limited time only in Japan. They can sometimes be hard to spot depending on the coloured parts chosen (some people made dogs that looked identical to standard colours or SE colours, just to get the special visor and ears). They can identified by serial number or the 'z' designation on the box.

After much demand from owners, Sony eventually made the My Select and SE parts avalible to freely purchase in Japan.

Ears and tails were sold induvidually.

While this is great, this makes it harder for collectors who care about having an authentic example of a My Select with a Z designation serial to know if they are buying a My Select or not.

For most it doesn't matter and just means there are more unique ERS-210/As in the wild. :-)

While buying parts of any colour in Japan was open, in other countries you had to quote a serial number matching that SE colour in order to buy the parts. After Aibo was discontinued in 2006, Japan also reverted to needing serial numbers for parts again to ensure there was enough parts avaliable in the long term for owners of SE dogs.

Unpainted 210/210A Shells

On January 2003 the Sony AIBO Clinic started selling unpainted plastic shells so owners could custom paint their Aibos. The unpainted shell kit cost 5,250 yen (5,000 yen without tax) - however fitting the shells themselves would void the warranty so Sony offered an additional service where you could paint the shells and then send your Aibo + the shells to the AIBO Clinic for them to fit the pieces onto the robot for you. If you used this service, Sony would provide a 3-month warranty on the main unit of AIBO after the exterior had been replaced (if the remaining warranty period is 3 months or longer, the warranty would continue for that period).

The total service cost was 14,191 yen (excluding tax 13,515 yen).

Sony's Painting advice:

AIBO's exterior is made of a plastic called ABS resin. This plastic is generally used for housings of home electric appliances, etc., and is a material with excellent strength and appearance. Good paintability and excellent finish. However, since it is made of plastic, there are some points that you should be careful about when painting it. Please be aware of the following points when purchasing the unpainted exterior ASSY kit for ERS-210/210A and enjoying painting the exterior.

・ Do not apply heat. Heat resistance is not high, so please avoid heat treatment during drying. There is a risk of deformation.

・ There is a risk of deformation and discoloration with solvents. General lacquer-based paints, such as those used for plastic models, are reliable, but we recommend that you test the paint on an inconspicuous part such as the back side before painting. Strong solvents may melt or deform the plastic itself.

・ Make sure that dirt and dust do not adhere to the painted surface.

・ Before painting, remove oil stains such as fingerprints with a neutral detergent.

・ If paint adheres to the assembly (meshing) part of the parts, there is a risk of poor meshing.

210/220 Dummy Core

In response to requests from AIBOwners, AIBO Clinic started to sell dummy cores that can be used for the ERS-210/220 series.
After purchasing the 220 transformation kit, you can attach each remaining Aibo module to the dummy core and enjoy the Aibo as a posable figure for photographs. The core is identical to the real thing but lacks the electronics inside. It is unknown how many of these dummy cores are floating around as most people don't know the existance of these dummy cores so may have been mistaken for a defective core.

The dummy core cost 4,200 yen
(Price without tax 4,000 yen) and was only avalible to existing Aibo owners via the Aibo Clinic.

Launch Software and Accessories