Photo: Lorenzo Plana / CSIC Communication / Courtesy
A group of Spanish scientists from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) created a robot dog capable of guiding people with some kind of disability using Google Maps.
For the development of their prototype, the experts used a Unitree Go of Chinese origin , which underwent a series of improvements to increase the capacity of its hardware and software. It is a robot which was originally designed to carry out simple tasks such as accompanying its owner while jogging in the street or carrying groceries.
The robot dog, baptized Tefi, can move in open spaces thanks to the fact that it integrates a GPS chip that takes care of its positioning. In addition to this, it has a connection to mobile telephone networks so that it can access Google Maps.
As regards the Tefi software, it also incorporates artificial vision algorithms, so
can identify certain types of objects and symbols such as traffic signs, people or even QR codes .
“In addition to notifying her owner of the time at which she has a medical appointment, Tefi is able to guide you directly to the consultation using only of a plan of the building that you can obtain if it is accessible”, say the scientists in charge of this project.
They point out that for the moment the tests of the robot have only been in closed spaces, so the next step is to try to carry out tests outdoors to identify opportunities to improve the device.
According to scientists, an important aspect of Tefi is that can be much cheaper than a guide dog that fulfills the same functions. However, it must be taken into account that the base price of this device cannot be less than $2,798 dollars per unit.
The reason for this is that this is precisely the amount for which the Unitree Go is marketed, so counting the improvements that the devices should receive assume that their sale price could be more than $3, or $4, Dollars.
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