Robot Dog

 

China’s Antarctic mission gets helping paw from robot dog


A Chinese robot dog designed to carry heavy loads in extreme cold has successfully completed a series of tests in Antarctica, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Video footage broadcast on Saturday showed the six-legged dog carrying a box on its back at the Zhongshan polar research station.

The report said the robot has specially designed shoes, made from a material that can withstand temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit).

“Moreover, the shoes minimise pressure when in contact with the ice, providing excellent anti-slip performance while reducing damage to the ice surface,” Mao Shijie, head of the Antarctic research missions’s robot team, told CCTV.

It also has a specially insulated battery allowing it to function for two hours in temperatures of minus 40 and extra batteries can be attached if it needs to perform longer tasks, for example exploring the polar ice.

The robotic dog has successfully completed tests designed to check its ability to cross icy surfaces and carry loads weighing up to 100kg (220lb) in extreme conditions.

Once upgraded it will be used to help the Antarctic researchers carry out tasks such as safety inspections. Mao said one of its key roles would be to travel in front of the research team carrying equipment to detect cracks in the ice.

In the future, the robotic dog will be adapted to take part in more complex operations, such as working with underwater robots and drones to help collect water samples.

Chinese-built robot dogs are already used for a range of other tasks away from the polar regions, including power plant inspections and carrying supplies for the military.

Last year they were used during a People’s Liberation Army joint training exercise with Cambodia, and media outlets have recently carried pictures of a robot dog carrying supplies during a high-altitude logistics exercise.

CCTV’s report also said that researchers were testing whether robot dogs could be used alongside artificial intelligence to care for the elderly.

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