Could robots replace guide dogs for the blind?

The team, from ETH Zurich - the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, are using a commercially available robotic dog to test their ability to develop sensors and software to allow the 'robodog' to navigate the real world and keep a blind or visually impaired person safe.

"I am currently working on this robot dog project which consists of having a robotic guide dog that should help blind people to navigate safely and replace traditional real guide dogs," PhD student Davide Plozza, told Reuters.

"For some people, they are still good options but they are very costly to train and not all people want to actually have a dog."

Unlike a real guide dog, a robot can be programmed to perform specific tasks in environments it has never seen before. An ability the Swiss team thinks could see robots eventually replacing their canine equivalents.

"It can create a map on the spot and then can decide which is the best path to take to reach the target. And also in the meantime, it can avoid dynamic obstacles like if some people or some other obstacles show up which were unexpected, the system can successfully avoid them," Plozza said.

The technology relies on a combination of camera technology and Lidar - a remote sensing technology using pulsed laser light the way radar uses radio waves - to produce an accurate depth map of the surrounding area that allows an algorithm to calculate a route.

The team say robodogs could have multiple application beyond working as guide dogs, from helping the elderly to surveying damaged buildings.

But even the head of ETH Zurich's Centre for Project-Based Learning says he would choose the real thing over the robot.

"I think this robot can really over-perform the dogs but also can over-perform humans and can be really helpful. But me personally I will still buy a dog," Professor Michele Magno, told Reuters.

Reuters