In Japan, more than 100 robot dogs received a funeral send-off at a Buddhist temple recently, as monks delivered a ceremony for the irreparable old generation of Sony's Aibo, The Guardian reported.
The memorial was held at the 450-year-old Kofukuji temple in Isum, near Tokyo, where owners of 114 "deceased" robotic dogs had sent their beloved pets, with tags saying where they were from, to be laid to rest.
Aibo first went on sale in 1999 and went on to be a top seller for several years but, in 2006 Sony decided to end production of the family friendly robotic dog and in 2014 the firm stopped repairing malfunctioning models completely.
With nowhere left to turn for repairs, owners have very few options.
They can either keep their broken Aibo models or they can send them off to electronic repair company A-Fun Co., which uses the parts to fix vintage products, the Japan Times noted.
In return, the company then sends the "remains" to Kofukuji for an official send-off.
To date, about 800 Aibos have received similar memorials.
"We'd like to return the souls to the owners and make the robot a machine to utilize their parts," said A-Fun CEO Nobuyuki Norimatsu, according to National Public Radio.
"We don't take parts before we hold a funeral for them."
Many of the robotic dogs arrive at the temple with letters from their owners.
"I feel relieved to know there will be a prayer for my Aibo," one said, per The Guardian.
"Please help other Aibos. My eyes filled with tears when I decided to say goodbye," another said.
It may seem somewhat unusual to lay to rest a pet that was never alive but Kofukuji head priest Bungen Oi said "all things have a bit of soul," NPR noted.
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