General Info
Colors and Variants
Software
⠀⠀↳ Explorer
⠀⠀↳ Life 2
Accessories
Common Issues
⠀⠀↳ Tilt Axis Syndrome (TAS) & Pan Axis Syndrome (PAS)
⠀⠀↳ Jitters
⠀⠀↳ Battery Failure
So why get an ERS-220?
Manuals & Helpful Links
Sources

The AIBO ERS-220 is part of the second generation of AIBO. It was designed by Shoji Kawamori, most well-known for being the creator of Macross. The ERS-220 sports a unique robotic appearance, including a dark antenna protruding from its head and nearly 20 LED lights across the whole of its body. Notably, it has a light that can pop-up from the top of its head.

Pictured: An ERS-220 drawn by Kawamori. photo credit: Shoji Kawamori's website

Just like its more common cousin, the ERS-210, the AIBO ERS-220 uses voice commands. A Wireless LAN (WLAN) card for AIBO can be used to connect AIBO to your PC, where you can have much more control of it.

Unlike the ERS-210, though, the ERS-220 features some different buttons and methods of interaction. Instead of petting the head, you must push the antenna back to praise AIBO and push it towards you to scold. There is a chin sensor (the small circle on the left side of its face) and a back sensor (the button right beneath the back lights). There are also 3 buttons on the very back of the tail block. Each button does something different depending on the software in use. In some software, one button may turn on the head light while another will show the battery level through the lights on AIBO's rear end.

Depending on what software you use, your ERS-220 can take pictures, record your name as well as its own, remember faces, dance, sing, and place itself on its energy station.

This model of AIBO is rare and can be very sought after by collectors.

ERS-220s come in only one color, silver. They have 2 main versions; a Standard variant ("ERS-220") and a Supercore variant ("ERS-220A"). Unlike with ERS-210s, it does not seem that ERS-220s can develop the dreaded DHS (Droopy Head Syndrome) in any variant. Supercore ERS-220s have twice the CPU clock speed and will usually boot faster than a standard ERS-220.

Pictured: Standard ERS-210 core.	Pictured: Supercore ERS-210. Note the holographic "Supercore" sticker.

If an ERS-220, for some reason, is missing the battery compartment stickers, the serial number located inside the compartment can still clue you in. Supercore ERS-220s will have a blue serial number sticker.

Pictured: A Supercore ERS-220 serial number.

There is one last variant of ERS-220. Transformation kits were sold by Sony as kits to transform your ERS-210 into an ERS-220. The kits came with no core, just the head, limbs, and tail block. These kits are extraordinarily rare.

The following software is compatible with the ERS-220:

Sony Official	3rd Party
AIBO Life AIBO Life 2 Hello AIBO! Type A Hello AIBO! Type B AIBO Explorer AIBO Eyes Party Mascot AIBO Dancer AIBO Messenger DekaVoice AIBO Speedboarder AIBO Recognition AIBO Cupid	Another Evolution Side 1 Another Evolution Side 2 Blue’s Adventure AIBO Planet Vol. 1-3 AIBO Motion Collection Painter AIBO

Explorer is a popular software for the ERS-220. This software gives AIBO robotic movements and behavior. It will also go into "Boost Mode" when it is extremely happy.

Life 2 is a good choice for the ERS-220. In this software, AIBO starts off as a newborn who can only lay down and whine. Over time, AIBO learns to recognize its name and its pink ball. As it grows, AIBO goes through different developmental stages before it becomes an adult. There are multiple paths it can go down and different personalities it can end up with.

The second generation of AIBO is compatible with several accessories. These include:

Pictured: An AIBO memory stick.

AIBO usually runs on a memory stick. These sticks contain "AIBOware" (AIBO software) that allow AIBO to do different things.

Pictured: Pink ball with the word "aibo" on it.

Most AIBOs come with a pink ball. They like to look at it and play with it.

Pictured: Two energy stations.	Pictured: The energy station front cover opened up.

The easiest way to charge an AIBO is on their energy station, sometimes also called a docking station or charging station. AIBO charges when you rest them on the station. The front of the station opens, giving access to the sub-battery compartment where a second battery can be charged. You can see the battery levels on the station's LCD screen. You can use the buttons to set the time, date, and AIBO's volume level.

Note: If the metal pins on the station bend, they will not make proper contact with the AIBO and it won't be able to be charged that way.

Pictured: The limb disassembly key.

ERS-220s have modularity, allowing users to detach and reattach the limb, head, and tail blocks. This is done by inserting the metal part of the official Limb Disassembly Key into the small holes underneath the AIBO.

Pictured: The station pole and mat.	Pictured: Bruma demonstrating how you should assemble the station pole & mat.

The only official AIBOware that can utilize the docking station pole is Recognition. AIBO uses the pink ball, green and blue pole, and rear marker mat to position itself onto the charging station.

Pictured: Front of the WLAN card.	Pictured: Back of the WLAN card.

This card can only be inserted by removing AIBO's limbs using the limb disassembly key. Once inserted, AIBO can connect to networks that use WEP2 security.

Pictured: The blue ERS-210 carry bag.	Pictured: Wanwan strapped inside of the bag.

Sony produced official carrying bags for the ERS-210. They come in blue, black, pink, and a fake leather variant. The foam pads are attached by velcro, so you can remove or rearrange them. There are zippers on the sides to store items such as the AIBO charging cable and battery. Be sure to remove AIBO's battery if you are going to carry it inside the bag.

AIBO uses the speedboard while running the Speedboarder software. It can go backwards, forwards, left, and right.

This is far from a comprehensive list of all ERS-210 accessories. For a more complete list of AIBO accessories, visit the accessories page.

The ERS-220 can develop TAS (Tilt Axis Syndrome) and PAS (Pan Axis Syndrome). They may also have jitters and experience battery failure. TAS & PAS involve parts of the inner head mechanisms failing.

The following information is for educational purposes and it is not adequate information to try and repair AIBO. You should not attempt complicated repairs on any AIBO unless you are confident you know what you are doing. When disassembling AIBO, it can be easy to make things worse, such as by accidentally tearing the fragile flexible "flexi" ribbon cables. If your AIBO needs repairs, it is best to pay someone experienced to do it.

Tilt Axis Syndrome (TAS) occurs on the axis AIBO tilts their head on. Pan Axis Syndrome (PAS) occurs on the axis AIBO move its head side-to-side on (such as shaking its head "no"). The symptoms are an AIBO's head attempting to move but it is stopped in place and whirring. Sometimes, the head will not appear to stop, but it will still whirr.

If it isn't severe, TAS & PAS are not nearly as pressing as DHS is. However, they are still a problem and it is better to get it repaired. Similar to DHS, it occurs in the clutches and it's usually repaired by pinning them.

ERS-220s appear to be more susceptible to jitters than their counterpart. When dust gets on the potentiometers or potentiometer contacts, AIBO has trouble reading the position of its body parts, causing it to shake. Sometimes, these shakes happen sparingly and don't affect AIBO much; other times, the shakes are so violent that AIBO goes into jam condition and cannot function properly. Jitters can occur in the legs, in the head, and anywhere else there is a potentiometer. It is remedied by applying some isopropyl alcohol (preferably a high percentage like 91%) to the potentiometer and gently wiping it with a Q-tip.

Cleaning the potentiometers in ERS-220 legs is relatively easy. However, keep in mind there is always a risk when opening up AIBO.

While it is possible to clean the neck potentiometer for head jitters, it requires quite a bit of effort and care to access the part. If you wish to clean this potentiometer yourself, do so at your own risk.

When AIBO won't turn on or can only run for a few minutes, the most common reason is that their batteries are in need of "recelling", a process of replacing the old dead battery cells with fresh, new ones. All original, unmodified AIBO ERS-220 batteries are dead or near dead. It is better to not use an unrepaired battery, as the cells are old and can sometimes vent, causing a whistling sound.

If you ever hear whistling from the battery while it is being charged, remove it from anything it is in such as a charging station, portable charger, or an AIBO and cease using the battery. It is best to store the battery in a cold, dark place until you can have it recelled. It is safe recell it even in this state, as the venting causes it to lose energy. When the energy is lost, more can't be stored or gained. However, it still is not safe to charge the battery, so do not insert it into any kind of charger until it is repaired properly.[1]

Recelling batteries is a complicated procedure which has a full guide located here. Some community members offer a battery recelling service for a fee of $50-$100 USD. Do not attempt to recell batteries if you are not familiar with Lithium-Ion batteries and/or do not have any background in electronics or technology.

The ERS-220 is a fanastic collector's model. If you are deeply serious about AIBO, it's possible you have 1 or 2 already. Not to mention that, in my opinion, they are quite cute and pleasant. My own ERS-220, Centaur, might be a bit of a weirdo, but I adore him anyway.

Admittedly, their foot shape makes them kind of look like weird space horses. AIBO isn't really a dog, so maybe you would rather interpret them as a horse.

Even if you don't care much for AIBO, perhaps you just really love Shoji Kawamori's stuff. He is a great designer so it is no wonder he got a chance to work with Sony on such a unique robot.

Here are some manuals for the ERS-220 series of AIBOs. Some manuals may depict the ERS-210, another second generation AIBO model. They are still applicable to the ERS-220, but some specific functions (button and sensor placement) may be different.

ERS-220 Operating Instructions (English)
General operation instructions for the ERS-220, including how to turn it on and play with it.

ERS-210/220 Life 2 User's Guide (English)
A helpful guide for playing with your AIBO that is running the software Life 2. The manual has instructions for both the ERS-210 and ERS-220 models.

Other helpful or interesting tools

Serial Number Checker
You can use this tool to check your AIBO's serial number. While a rare occurence, if there's a mismatch between your AIBO's body color and the color that the serial number comes up as, that means at some point your AIBO's parts were switched around. It isn't very important, but it's a little cool!

aibohack.com's Aibo Browser
You can download Aibo Browser from here, a piece of fan-made PC software that allows you to easily view the data on your AIBO's memory stick. Remember to always use a Sony-brand stick reader to protect your stick.

VirtualPaws' Page on ERS-220
A helpful page about the ERS-220 model of AIBO.

Most information on this page is unsourced due to part of it coming from personal experience or sources buried in venues that are not completely public and would be impractical to cite. Instead, I have decided to provide citations specifically in cases where a piece of information could pose a safety issue to AIBO or its human friends.

[1] Information on how to handle batteries which have venting cell(s) was provided by Michael Larkin.

Some AIBO images have been taken from other websites. They are used here for educational purposes.