Prototype Robodog from University of California, Berkeley Helps Persons with Visual Impairment Navigate Using Lasers
Americas, Misc., Transportation, April 14 2021
UNITED STATES: It looks like artificial intelligence and robotics might be on the verge of automating yet another job. A team of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley has developed a four-legged robodog to safely guide the visually impaired, a New Scientist report explains.
In a study published March 26, the researchers showed that their prototype pup can keep an eye on its master and utilize lasers to steer them around obstacles.
The robodogs will use a guiding software that is automatically downloaded into the machines and can be updated over time, project leader Zhongyu Li told New Scientist.
“Using a robotic guide dog, we can directly deploy our code from one robot to another,” Li told New Scientist. “As time goes by and the hardware becomes more affordable, we can actually use this kind of dog to help, to serve, humans.”
Such a system would get rid of the costly and time-consuming training process typically used for certified guide dogs.
Then there’s the fact that guide robodogs could utilize technologies such as GPS for an extra advantage — allowing them to know [...]