In the 1990s, Sony was absolutely convinced that we were on the precipice of a robot takeover. Pretty soon, the company decided, we’d all be living among countless humanoid robots. Some would be our coworkers; others would be our friends; and at least one would be our pet. And “pet” was exactly what Sony was going for when it created the Aibo. It was supposed to be part of the family.

On this episode of Version History, we go back in time and tell the story of the Aibo. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Victoria Song and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and together they discuss the origins of this remarkable robot dog, and its impressive success and longevity. They also try to figure out why Aibo had such an effect on its owners, what Sony got right (and wrong) about robots, and whether the idea of a robo-pet will ever be a global phenomenon.

This is the first episode of the sixth season of Version History. We’re back! This season is all about pets: gadgets that are pets, gadgets for your pets, and one gadget called pet. We’ll be in your feeds for the next six weeks — if you want to be sure not to miss anything, there are a few ways to subscribe:

If you want to know more about the Aibo, here are some links to get you started: