Robotic dogs get fancy farewells

Owners of aging Sony AI pets that cannot be repaired give their pets elaborate funerals

Incense smoke wafts through the cold air of the centuries-old Buddhist temple as a priest chants a sutra, praying for a peaceful transition for the souls of the departed.

It is a funeral like any other in Japan. Except that those being honored are robotic dogs, lined up on the altar, each wearing a tag to show where it came from and which family it belonged to.