Can a robot dog be lovable?
During the months spent in city traffic, the robot dog named Julius was a great success. However, some onlookers were afraid of it. Those interviewed stated that they are generally afraid of dogs due to their childhood experiences, and they were equally scared of the robot dog. This may suggest an interesting vision for the future.
Let’s just imagine that one day we will need to regulate the street traffic involving robot dogs that appear in everyday life. Robot dog owners might even be required to use leashes and harnesses to prevent a minor control error or other technical malfunction from potentially causing alarm. It could also happen that, during manual control with the obstacle detection function turned off, the robot dog could collide head-on with something or someone.
A robot dog can be programmed to walk beside its owner and follow them; however, it proved fortunate that it had a leash and harness. Unexpected situations or potential battery weakening must be taken into account, when the robot dog might need some additional support.
Nevertheless, the GO-2 brought a smile to many passersby’s faces. We observed many people finding a robot dog offering a paw very endearing and lovable.