Are animal robots important?

He runs and barks upon request and educates himself through the principle of reward and punishment. Bravo at the most shrewd, It really is a dog. Except in reality, he’s not a man’s best friend, but his variable tech ego: a robot dog. Latest robot animal, Alphadog dog caused quite a sensation while on display. These animal robots have been a trend that has been going on for years with a question that comes with each new presentation: What can they be used for?

Chinese designerAlfdog He assures him that his robot dog is the fastest in the world. Of course, that doesn’t make it a revolutionary invention. We have to look a little further. High-tech dog equipped with detectors, It is fueled by artificial intelligence, which allows it to “hear” and “see” its environment. But you can also take it for a walk. “It’s like a real dog,” says Ma Jie, technology director at Weilan, the Chinese company behind the prototype, even if it had neither a tail nor a head. The robotic dogs display a top speed of 15 km / h, making them a world record for a metal animal race. It’s also more stable than a real dog, its designers explained, with a large kick in the back as a guide. This is all very good, but it can still be difficult to find interest in it except that it does not defecate in your house as you wish. According to his inventor, he has at least one common interest in being able to To serve the blind.

“When he also has a dialogue function, he will be able to communicate with the disabled and take them to the supermarket or the bus station,” Ma says. What the guide dog is currently doing. In the “company” version, Alphadog can be used in the largest Industrial machinery inspection Or the tubes. The next generation may also see a robot as having a “personality”.

The importance of the invention can be questioned. However, many robots have now found their place. In Japan, robots maintain companionship and help the elderly. Much closer to home, In some Belgian nursing homes, robots escorted residents during confinement And linking them with their families and friends through screens placed on them. In some restaurants in China, waiters are robots as well. Automatic weapons are also appearing, but their use is still limited for the time being for clarity. But animal robots, just as fast and smart, don’t have them yet They did not find their audience. Firstly for financial reason – usually too expensive – and secondly because it is not as good as the original product.

Despite this, it remains to admire some technological breakthroughs and know what is happening near the home, at ULB for example, where the world’s first micro-robotics scientist has just been realized. The teams invented the TIPs laboratory at ULB and the FEMTO-ST Institute in Besançon ThermobotA miniature robot guided by heat, in this case a laser beam. The technological organism, which resembles a fly, evolves on water and It appears to be walking on the surface of the liquid. Guided or rather pursued by a laser that makes it possible to control his movements, It travels at a speed of over 200 km / h. It would have been better if Alphadog had warned. This feat makes it possible to visualize future devices of all types active on water.

However, immediate-use animal robots do exist. Tire brand And so Continental introduced robotic dogs to deliver packages To the doorstep. Today, this type of robot is still around in many countries to make deliveries, but it doesn’t necessarily resemble a dog or animal at all. This is the central question. Many robots have an animal appearance only to make them sympathetic to our human eyes. What really matters is the underlying technology and the added value it can bring within an ecosystem or a company, etc. So they should not be judged by their looks because in this game they will never win. Their performance and the scientific progress they represent is far greater, although many of these animal robots often find themselves without an owner. No one has yet invented an abandoned robotic shelter.