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A group of researchers in Shanghai, China has developed a six-legged robotic guide dog intended to assist the visually impaired in a country where living guide dogs are a scarce resource.
The robot dog, which is currently going through field-testing, navigates its physical surroundings using sensors and cameras, and can even recognize traffic light signals, an improvement upon the capabilities of living guide dogs. This English-Bulldog-sized robot can communicate with its operator by listening and speaking using artificial intelligence, voice recognition and route planning technologies. The robot dog’s six legs enable it to walk smoothly and with great stability, according to researchers in Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of Mechanical Engineering.
In China, there are nearly 20 million blind people, but there are currently just over 400 guide dogs. Pet ownership and employment of service animals are relatively new concepts, and many workplaces and public areas are not yet accepting of traditional guide dogs. Additionally, rates of natural breeding, high ownership costs and the long two to three-year training period guide dogs need to undergo, all limit the amount of people that can access the four-legged helper.
Due to these circumstances, the development of robot guide dogs can be invaluable to China’s blind community. “It’s a bit like cars. I can mass-produce them in the same way as cars, so it will become more affordable. I think this could be a very large market, because there might be tens of millions of people in the world who need guide dogs,” Said Professor Gao Feng, the head of the research team at the institute’s School of Mechanical Engineering, in an interview to Reuters.
