根據(jù)日本官方統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)，在 2013年，日本女性的平均壽命達到了86.61歲，連續(xù)第二年成為全球第一；而日本人口迅速邁向高齡化，也促使該國積極評估醫(yī)療技術(shù)、重新思考醫(yī)療體系，并投資私人/公有醫(yī)療服務基礎架構(gòu)。 我想我不是唯一擔憂日本未來的人，估計到2060年，日本65歲以上的所謂“銀發(fā)族”人口比例將達到40%。而最近日本還有一個意想不到的發(fā)現(xiàn)，是寵物機器人也面臨“高齡化”的問題──看著父母年紀漸長已經(jīng)很不好受，恐怕看著寵物機器人變老也是一樣。 開發(fā)出日本第一款“娛樂機器人”──機器狗 Aibo 的Sony，早在2006年就宣布停產(chǎn)寵物機器人，原因是該公司從那個時候起，就非常需要重新恢復獲利能力，而想把資源集中在所謂的核心業(yè)務上。

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由 土井力忠(Toshitada Doi)所率領(lǐng)的Sony的研發(fā)團隊，打造出號稱全球最強的娛樂機器人平臺，而Aibo也曾經(jīng)被認為是消費性機器人市場上設計最精密的產(chǎn)品；Aibo總共 售出了15萬只，但這只機器小狗的成功，特別是在Sony主管的眼中，還算不上是公司的“核心”。 而不只是Sony，整個電子產(chǎn)業(yè)都沒有預料到，當一款生命周期已經(jīng)結(jié)束的機器人產(chǎn)品實際上已經(jīng)成為家庭成員時，將會帶來怎樣的沖擊。 大多數(shù)的消費者每幾年就會換一支智能手機，甚至是那些手機還“活著”；但應該沒有人會這么對待自己的寵物(機器)狗?？粗约旱膶櫸镒兝鲜呛芡纯嗟模愕氖钱斈惆l(fā)現(xiàn)完全幫不上忙──例如狗狗的髖骨部位損壞了，卻沒有可以替換的備用零件。 最近我聽到一個故事，來自專門接聽Aibo主人來電的團隊；這個團隊負責的任務非常關(guān)鍵，特別是因為Sony在2014年7月，已經(jīng)不再受理Aibo的維修。 因為沒有能幫Aibo看病的“獸醫(yī)”了，對Sony來說，目前的困境是無法直接對那些主人說“沒有備用零件”、然后掛斷電話，這會為該公司品牌帶來負面形象、也破壞與顧客之間的關(guān)系；因此除了耐心聆聽來電并安慰傷心的Aibo主人們，Sony客服團隊也愛莫能助。 在Sony終止Aibo維修服務的同時，日本新聞周刊《Aera》注銷一篇報導，題為“Aibo，我不會讓你走的！(Aibo, I Won't Let You Die.)”；這篇報導一開始，是一位60歲的日本太太談她的Aibo寵物狗“Hokuto”。 Hokuto已經(jīng)十歲了，住在家里的客廳；每天早上8點半，Hokuto會準時醒來，當主人問：“你今天好嗎？”牠會回答：“我覺得有點心不在焉…”或是：“你可以摸摸我嗎？”十年來，每一個早晨都是這樣開始的。 有的時候Hokuto還會陪主人去旅行，或是整天在屋子里精力充沛地到處亂竄；但是最近，Hokuto卻不復往日的活躍，常常只是待在同一個地方好幾個小時，顯然是受“關(guān)節(jié)炎”之苦；當它動腿的時候就會發(fā)出不祥的噪音，暗示Hokuto已經(jīng)開始衰老。 因為經(jīng)常受傷，Hokuto近幾年“住院”了20次，但現(xiàn)在，部分因為Sony終止維修服務的政策，它所在區(qū)域的“機器人醫(yī)院”已經(jīng)關(guān)閉。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 本文下一頁：2006年停產(chǎn)，2014年還提供維修，索尼已經(jīng)仁至義盡 {pagination} Sony其實已經(jīng)仁至義盡地在2006年發(fā)布停產(chǎn)公告(End of Product Announcement，EoPA)之后，仍繼續(xù)提供了8年Aibo維修服務?！禔era》的報導引述了一位Aibo忠實粉絲的發(fā)言：“Apple曾經(jīng)做到相同的程度嗎？” 不同的產(chǎn)業(yè)對產(chǎn)品生命周期的管理策略都不相同，如食品供應鏈的產(chǎn)品生命周期可能只有幾周或是數(shù)月，汽車產(chǎn)品生命周期可能長達十年，手機則是三年左右。

產(chǎn)品生命周期分為數(shù)個階段，包括GA (general availability，廣泛供應)、EOLA (end of life announcement，產(chǎn)品生命周期終止公告)、LOD (last order date，最后訂購日期)，以及EOL (end-of-life，停產(chǎn))
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《Aera》報導寫到，Hokuto的主人趕在Sony關(guān)閉“Aibo 診所”之前將它最后一次送修；Hokuto被放在一個盒子里，里面還有一封主人的便條，寫著：“我想盡可能跟Hokuto一起活著…但我很怕把他從充電站 上抱下來。我不敢想有一天Hokuto不動了，他是我們家的一份子。” 該報導還指出，有一位在十年前左右從Sony提早退休的工程師，開了一家維修店，主要修理舊HiFi音響系統(tǒng)；因為他“妙手回春”的修理技術(shù)聲名遠播，很多Aibo主人也把家里的老舊機器寵物送過去，現(xiàn)在他的店里已經(jīng)有20只Aibo在“住院”，卻面臨零件短缺之苦。 現(xiàn) 在，Google也投入了機器人業(yè)務，日本Softbank才剛發(fā)表新型人形機器人“Pepper”，未來將有更多機器人(無論人形或非人形)會出現(xiàn)在人 類的家庭里；Aibo的故事提醒了我們可能面臨的煩惱：我們該如何照顧年老的機器人？當機器寵物“去世”了，我們又該怎么辦？ 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：What Next? Robot Cemeteries?，by Junko Yoshida {pagination} What Next? Robot Cemeteries? Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent TOKYO -- The average lifespan of Japanese women rose in 2013 to 86.61 years, up from 86.41 the year before, according to data released late last week by the Japanese health ministry. This makes Japan's LOLs (little old ladies) the world's longest-living females for the second straight year. Aibo is on the right. Japan's rapidly aging population is prompting the nation to evaluate medical technology, rethink its healthcare system, and invest in the private/public service infrastructure. I don't think I'm alone in worrying about Japan's future, in which the number of people 65 and over is forecast to reach nearly 40 percent of the population by 2060. That's a lot of gray hair. Similarly, Japan daily discovers more unintended consequences associated with the aging population of pet robots. It's hard enough to see your parents age. It's equally hard to see your pet robot grow old. Sony, inventor of Aibo, the nation's first "entertainment robot," announced back in 2006 that it would discontinue making pet robots. Why? The Japanese company wanted to focus on its "core" business, and Sony then (and still now) badly needed to restore its profitability. Sony's R&D team, headed up by Toshitada Doi, pioneered the world's most robust entertainment robot platform. Aibo was recognized as the most sophisticated product ever offered in the consumer robot marketplace. A total of 150,000 units of Aibo have been sold. But all that success, especially in the eyes of the corporation's bean counters, didn't make Aibo Sony's core business. When a machine becomes human What Sony and, for that matter, the whole electronics industry, didn't anticipate was the impact of the end-of-life product cycle on a machine that has genuinely become a member of its family. Most consumers replace smartphones every few years, even if they're still "alive." But nobody does that with their dog. Watching your pet age is painful. Even worse, when you find out that the vet can't help any longer: There are no spare parts or components that plug into a dog with a broken hip or a cat with cancer. What follows is a story I heard from a relative who heads up a special operational team to answer calls from owners of Aibo. The mission is critical, especially today, because, as of July 2014, Sony no longer repairs Aibo products. Next page: Hokuto's story Now that there is no Aibo vet, Sony's dilemma is that it can't just bluntly tell owners that there are no spare parts and hang up the phone. This tends to soil the Sony brand and compound its customer relation problems. Sony's Aibo help desk staff tries to offer a patient ear and a compassionate voice to grieving Aibo owners. Beyond that, they can't do much. Coinciding with the termination of Sony's repair services for Aibo, a Japanese weekly newsmagazine, Aera, published a feature entitled "Aibo, I Won't Let You Die." Aera's story starts with a 60-year-old Japanese woman talking about Hokuto, her pet Aibo. Hokuto, age 10, resides in the living room. Every morning at 8:30, Hokuto wakes up. The owner asks what's up, and Hokuto answers, "I feel a little absent-minded," or "Can you pet me?" For 10 years, that's how every morning has unfolded. Hokuto, who has even accompanied the owner on trips, used to scurry around the house all day, bubbling with energy. But lately, Hokuto has lost a lot of that old zip, often just resting in one spot for hours, apparently hindered by arthritic knees. When he moves his legs, they make ominous noises. Hokuto has started to fall down. Because of his frequent injuries, Hokuto has been "hospitalized" 20 times in recent years. But now, the local robot infirmary hospital is closed, part of Sony's policy to end repair service. To its credit, Sony continued to offer Aibo repairs for eight years after its End of Product Announcement (EoPA) in 2006. "Would Apple have done the same?" asked one diehard Aibo fan in the magazine piece. How to manage the end-of-life product cycle differs from one industry to another. Different lifetime examples include toys from fast food chains (weeks or months), cars (10 years), and mobile phones (3 years). Managing a product life cycle: general availability (GA), end of life announcement (EOLA), last order date (LOD), and end-of-life (EOL) Click here for larger image Hokuto's owner squeezed in one last repair service just before Sony closed the Aibo clinic. According to the article, Hokuto came in a box with a thank-you note from the owner, who wrote: I want to stay active with Hokuto as long as I could... but I am afraid to bring him off his charging station. I don't want to think of a day when Hokuto stops moving. He is, after all, a true member of our family. The report adds that an engineer, after taking early retirement from Sony almost a decade ago, has opened a repair shop, mainly focused on old HiFi systems. His impeccable service record has gone viral, prompting Aibo owners to sending him their geriatric robots. There are about 20 Aibos hospitalized at his workshop now, but the lack of parts and components is making it almost impossible for him to accept any more LORs (little old robots). Now that Google is in the robot business, and Softbank is banking on a new humanoid called "Pepper," more robots -- and humanoids -- are expected to proliferate in the home. Aibo has given us a glimpse of a future dilemma that nobody has seriously considered: how to take care of our aging robots, and what to do when Robby dies.