With the demise of the Aibo and QRIO, is there actually a market for personal robots?

FORBES: Reflections on Personal Robots, Backwards and Forwards

If on schedule, QRIO was to be commercially available by this year.

FORBES: Reflections on Personal Robots, Backwards and Forwards

Reportedly, the QRIO was capable of voice and face recognition, making it able to remember people as well as their likes and dislikes.

FORBES: Reflections on Personal Robots, Backwards and Forwards

From the Japanese automobile maker Honda, the ASIMO robot was an in-house project throughout the 2000s, and was taller than the QRIO by two feet and weighed more than three times more.

FORBES: Reflections on Personal Robots, Backwards and Forwards

Interestingly, the 2005 Guinness World Records listed the QRIO as the first bipedal robot capable of running (which it defines as moving while both legs are off the ground at the same time).

FORBES: Reflections on Personal Robots, Backwards and Forwards

Alas, QRIO was not to be.

FORBES: Reflections on Personal Robots, Backwards and Forwards