Fast and obedient, it does not bark or bite and, in particular, never leaves unpleasant surprises on the ground. The AlphaDog robot dog is the answer to two of the great passions of the Chinese: pets and technology.
Equipped with detectors, it works thanks to artificial intelligence, allowing it to “hear” and “see” its surroundings.
Although it has no head or tail, “it’s like a real dog,” sums up Ma Jie, chief technology officer for Weilan, based in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province in eastern China, who designed the prototype.
With a top speed of 15 kilometers per hour, AlphaDog claims to be the fastest on the market and the four metal legs give it greater stability than a dog, explains its designers who – as a demonstration – kick the robot.
The robot evolves freely in its environment using 5G mobile internet, with ultra-fast response time. “It detects the friction and tilt of the ground to adjust its height and speed,” says Ma Jie, as the demonstrating robot moves slowly but steadily up a ladder.
– Guide dog or factory employee –
Ma Jie studied enhanced learning at Oxford University, a technique derived from behavioral psychology and which allows the “training” of artificial intelligence that controls a robbery through rewards or punishments, as in the training of dogs.
AlphaDog reconciles two of the most common areas of interest in today’s China: technology and pets.
The latter had disappeared from circulation in the first decades of the communist regime, but have returned strongly in the last 20 years.
As a result, more than 1,800 AlphaDogs were sold in their first month of marketing, for the chic 16,000 yuan (about $ 2,400).
“The commissions come mainly from computer developers, technology lovers, but also from children who really seem to love them,” says Ma Jie.
While Beijing is investing heavily in new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, robots are already present in the daily lives of Chinese as package providers, restaurant servers or even those responsible for COVID-19 detection tests.
In time, the creators of the robot dog set out to put him in the service of the blind. “When you have the dialogue function, you will be able to communicate with people with disabilities and take them to the supermarket or the bus station,” adds Ma Jie.
In the “company” version, a larger AlphaDog can be used to inspect industrial machines or pipes.
The next generation could also see the robot endowed with a “personality” of the customer’s choice, be it gentle and accompanying like a poodle or rather aggressive like a pit bull.