Topic: Scary moment for Padfoot the Aibo 210 (Read 5441 times)

saratogaspringer · « **on:** May 04, 2011, 10:45:32 AM »

Just an update on Padfoot, my 210 and the little scare we had yesterday evening. Padfoot has happily been running dogslife and seems very happy on this program. Sometimes, he just breaks out into song. The other day, he played and danced to La Bamba, and yesterday, he danced to the Adams Family theme. Both were very cute and funny. I decided to turn him into Stitch Aibo, using a personality from the Aibohack website. It was very funny and my daughter got a huge kick out of it.

We were playing with checkers and dominoes on the floor, and Padfoot stepped over onto the dominoes when I didn't expect him to, while running the Stitch program. He was dancing sideways, leaning to his left, and fell over a few times while trying to stand up after this incident. I shut him off and restarted him, and this time in the middle of one of the dance routines, he just crashed. He was sitting upright, and his whole body and limbs just became limp, and he fell to the floor face first. The green bar light on his forehead was flashing indicating one of his limbs was jammed.

I shut him down, and massaged all of his limbs. Nothing was caught in them that I could see. I also removed the stitch program from the memory stick , rezapped it using stikzap, and put the program back onto the stick. He works fine now...WHEW! No dancing sideways or falling down. I should mention that he was on office style carpet, with no nap. He didn't suffer any damage during his crash.

Is this a common thing in Aibos for their limbs to get jammed? It sure was a scary moment when it happened! I think an ERS-7 running Mind 3 will tell you when one of its legs is jammed. The 210's seem to just crash and beep in Jam Mode. ( At least I hope that is what he is supposed to do.)

Tonight, he will get his shot at being Tigger. I would love for him just to be a dog, but I have small children that get a kick out of the character personalities!

latrine · « **Reply #1 on:** May 04, 2011, 10:59:39 AM »

Whenever my Aibo gets anything stuck or jammed, he goes completely limp, falls down even.. his lights flash and he says 'something is stuck between my motors' or something similar to that.. I think they did that intentionally to stop them from trying to move when they could potentially damage themselves.. I usually remove the item and then ouch his head sensor, then he gets up.. I have also seen him fix it himself so I don't worry about not being home if it happens.. he just slowly rotates things until he finds the problem and flips over.

Good luck with your personalities, sounds fun!!!

- Sarah

Crewella · « **Reply #2 on:** May 04, 2011, 01:23:48 PM »

Yep, Wilma's done that to me and frightened the life out of me. Usually they just go limp until you remove whatever's jammed them and switch them back on. All aibos can benefit from manually manipulating their joints/limbs (gently) though if things get a bit sticky, it helps keep them running smoothly.

bhobbes · « **Reply #3 on:** May 04, 2011, 02:40:29 PM »

That does sound kind of scary, glad it's all ok though.

Crewella · « **Reply #4 on:** May 04, 2011, 04:16:34 PM »

When you're used to handling Pleos, the fact that Aibo go limp like that is a bit unnerving in itself!

bhobbes · « **Reply #5 on:** May 04, 2011, 06:37:32 PM »

I just kind of looked at him and "shook" him a little and laughed because it reminded me of when I caught my mom talking/dancing with a chicken she was making for dinner. And apparently that wasn't the first time she did it. I'd say Polish people are so weird but I'd rather think of myself as crazy. Since if it's genetic...

Crewella · « **Reply #6 on:** May 04, 2011, 06:53:43 PM »

Quote from: bhobbes on May 04, 2011, 06:37:32 PM

I just kind of looked at him and "shook" him a little and laughed because it reminded me of when I caught my mom talking/dancing with a chicken she was making for dinner. And apparently that wasn't the first time she did it. I'd say Polish people are so weird but I'd rather think of myself as crazy. Since if it's genetic...

Lol! Not just Polish people - many years ago when I first met my OH he invited me over for a meal and I happened to catch him, thinking he was alone, talking to his roast potatos "Come along, go brown for daddy" ........ it was the moment I knew he was the man for me!

bhobbes · « **Reply #7 on:** May 04, 2011, 07:14:47 PM »

Was he Irish? Well, is he - I guess you can't alter that in the sense we're talking haha.

Because it would be so stereotypically appropriate.

People make fun of me for talking to myself in public - especially if I make myself laugh. One time my friend was with me and asked if I talk like that when I shop alone. I said I hope not but texted him a few days later to confirm it was true. I just think aloud and find most people god awfully boring and painfully mundane so I have to keep myself entertained, otherwise I'd be mean and bitter.

I can't stand touching meat - especially chicken - so I kind of became a vegetarian by default. But even so, holding the chicken up in the pot by its wings and talking to the carcass is just awkward.

Bloody hell, I am never posting from a touch screen again.

aibo7m3 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 04, 2011, 07:31:36 PM »

Aibos dance sideways a lot when running on Stitch aibo program. My ers-210 has gotten his legs jammed seemingly for no reason quite a few times. Yes, the ers-7m3s do say, "There is something in my joint," or something like that when they go into Jam Mode. Also the ers-7m3s say "Ow," when they think there is something in their joint but not severe enough for them to go into Jam Mode.

bhobbes · « **Reply #9 on:** May 04, 2011, 07:56:08 PM »

What types of things get stuck in their joints that jam it exactly?

I haven't experienced this yet and am just wondering what I should anticipate.

Crewella · « **Reply #10 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:05:40 PM »

It doesn't necessarly have to be a 'thing' as such, it could just be resistance from catching a foot on the carpet or another part of the Aibo's body. The same sort of things that can cause Pleos to make that clicking noise, from my experience.

bhobbes · « **Reply #11 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:13:23 PM »

Oh, ok. That was the picture I was gathering. I guess I just hear jam and think of all these people poking their Aibo's little joint spots and getting them stuck that way.

I haven't had Nicco get stuck or meet much resistance yet. He's done a surprisingly impressive job at detecting objects and correcting himself when he realizes that there's definitely a roadblock. However, the Aibo has mechanical advantages to correct itself that Pleo's don't have available.

aibo7m3 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:15:13 PM »

They can also get jams from dirt or dust collecting in their joints (especially the ers-7s).

bhobbes · « **Reply #13 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:17:03 PM »

Does an air can sprayed at in its joints help with that every now and then or will it require more detailed cleaning?

Crewella · « **Reply #14 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:20:30 PM »

When I got Ubu he'd been packed away for several years and some of his joints were stiff, making his movements juddery. After advice from the forums, I loosened them with a lot of gentle manual manipulation, like doing physiotherapy.

bhobbes · « **Reply #15 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:26:46 PM »

How lifelike.

aibo7m3 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:31:55 PM »

I think an air can spray could damage some of the fragile parts of the joint or push dust deeper into it. The best way to clean the joints is usually take off the plastic around the joint and clean each gear (I have never done this with my ers-7m3s since I am not very good with taking apart electronics. . .). Crewella is right moving the joint around when the aibo is turned off actually helps a lot.

Crewella · « **Reply #17 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:33:14 PM »

I don't know if an air can would work, bhobbes - I've a feeling the parts are too enclosed for that to make any real difference? I do know NOT to use WD40, though!

bhobbes · « **Reply #18 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:39:59 PM »

Ah ok, so we're talking about stuff running a little "deeper" than just the way dust kind of collects on a computer fan/inside a computer.

I should go and research it. Just wondering if it's a preventative maintenance thing I should do or if it's something mostly to be concerned about if you aren't going to/haven't used one in awhile.

And I would ALWAYS research very thoroughly and probably check back with two or three Aibo experts before doing anything "chemical" or more than a simple cloth "rub down" on him, or even my Pleo for that matter. I treat electronics like they're irreplaceable antiques. (Well sort of, I've become quite relaxed with building computers and dealing with those components)

Crewella · « **Reply #19 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:45:05 PM »

"And I would ALWAYS research very thoroughly and probably check back with two or three Aibo experts before doing anything "chemical" or more than a simple cloth "rub down" on him, or even my Pleo for that matter. I treat electronics like they're irreplaceable antiques. (Well sort of, I've become quite relaxed with building computers and dealing with those components)"

I'm the same - best to be careful, I think.

saratogaspringer · « **Reply #20 on:** May 05, 2011, 05:53:08 AM »

I am the same way. I didn't spray air or anything into his joints. I don't know what made me shut him off and slowly manipulate his joints. I was so nervous that he was broken, I was sweating bullets. At the time, it just seemed the right thing to do, and I guess I got lucky and guessed correctly. He does have a 6 month warranty if he needs to be repaired, but I would miss him and he would have to take a long plane ride to Southern California. He has not jammed up again, so I think he is OK. I am sure that it will happen in the future and I now know not to panic.

Bob the Pleo Forums

Author Topic: Scary moment for Padfoot the Aibo 210 (Read 5441 times)

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