discover CyberDog, the first robot dog from the Chinese manufacturer
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has unveiled a quadrupedal robot named CyberDog. It is an experimental open-source machine which, according to the company, “ conceals unsuspected possibilitiess ”.
We can’t talk about CyberDog, Xiaomi’s first robot dog, without thinking about Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot. The American company marketed its robotic animal for $ 74,500 last year, but Xiaomi’s model promises to be much more affordable.
Xiaomi believes this robot is a testament to the company’s “engineering feats” and serves as a test bed for robotics enthusiasts. It would be powered by a version of the Jetson Xavier NX from NVIDIA, dubbed the world’s smallest artificial intelligence supercomputer.
What is CyberDog for?
The CyberDog is a rather agile robot, since it offers a maximum torque of 32 Nm and can travel up to 3.2 meters per second. He would even be able to do back somersaults. To recognize its environment and move, the robot uses a set of 11 high precision sensors.
Among them, we find touch sensors, a system of cameras, ultrasonic sensors, or even GPS modules. We would find AI interactive cameras, ultra-wide-angle fisheye cameras and an Intel RealSense D450 Depth module. These allow the robot dog to follow objects or its owner, avoid obstacles or even create navigation maps.
Like a real pet, users will be able to give it orders with voice commands and set a wake word as “OK CyberDog”. Like Spot, it will also be possible to control it using a remote control or smartphone app, and add accessories like a LiDAR. Boston Dynamics’ robot dog is already so useful that the French Army is using it for combat training.
According to Xiaomi, CyerDog is not intended for the general public, but rather to robotics developers or fans who want to participate in competitions and together promote the development and potential of quadrupedal robots. Xiaomi has already distributed 1,000 CyberDog to Xiaomi fans, engineers and robotics enthusiasts in China, and the robot is sold for everyone at a price of 9,999 yuan (1,315 euros).
Source: Xiaomi
