Could robots replace guide dogs for the blind?

Record ID: 1739651

  • Title: Could robots replace guide dogs for the blind?
  • Date: 31st August 2023
  • Summary: ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (AUGUST 31, 2023) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROF MICHELE MAGNO, ETH ZURICH, SAYING: "In this particular project I really see the potential to go in a spinoff and also the technology we're using are not only for blind people are not only for this particular robot dog, but can be used in different application scenarios. For example, we can have an autonomous, we are also working with autonomous cars, we can have robots that are helping old people, we are having some different kinds of robots that can be used for drug detection, actually in the buildings for example we are also working on automatic detection of the damaged infrastructure. So I think the same technology can be used in different kinds of applications. The potential are very high. So actually I strongly believe that these can go in a startup when we can demonstrate that they can really work reliably." ROBODOG STAND UP AND WALKS AWAY ROBODOG AVOIDS A MAN WALKING PAST MORE OF ROBODOG AVOIDING SOMEONE NEARBY VARIOUS OF PLOZZA WORKING ON ROBODOG VARIOUS OF ROBODOG AVOIDING A MAN WALKING PAST ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (AUGUST 31, 2023) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROF MICHELE MAGNO, ETH ZURICH, SAYING: "So for me personally I will use a dog one hundred percent because I really love it but I think for many other people, there are people that don't like dogs, people that have allergic reaction, people that want more than what a dog can do. Because actually what we are also studying is how a dog can take an object for you, that a dog cannot do. So I think this robot can really over perform the dogs but also can over performs humans and can be really helpful. But me personally I will still buy a dog."
  • Embargoed: 14th September 2023 14:46
  • Keywords: ETH Zurich Robot guide dog for the blind blind and visually impaired robodog
  • Location: ZURICH, SWITZERLAND / BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
  • City: ZURICH, SWITZERLAND / BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: Europe,Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA00A827031082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A four-legged robot that can 'see' its surroundings could eventually replace the trusty guide dog for the blind, according to its developers.
    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 a 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 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 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 performs humans and can be really helpful. But me personally I will still buy a dog," Professor Michele Magno, told Reuters.
    (Production: Stuart McDill)
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