Ultra10

Over seven years, Sony’s robot dog was available in five main guises. The last was a Wi-fi connected , webcam-equipped, touch-sensitive marvel that could search for, and sit on, its dock when its battery ran low, and pick up its bone or kick its ball.

It wasn’t quick and it wouldn’t always do what it was told, but it did enough to promise that robots can become a reality- and that’s why its fanatical owners have formed kennel clubs to swap custom-programmed personalities. Bring back the robo-pooch, we say,