Will robots and other technology replace guide dogs?I’ll never forget the first day of service dog team training. One of the first things the trainers told us was, “Your new dog is not a robot.” And, here we are 20 years later talking about robots as assistance dogs.
Intel’s technology, as it relates to assistance dogs, was recently discussed in an article by Scott Jung, iQ Contributor & Senior Editor at MedGadget. During International Assistance Dog Week, Intel suggested technologies that honor not only the dogs that faithfully guide the visually impaired to greater independence, but also the work they inspire.
The report explains that because guide dogs can’t go everywhere, and can’t live with everyone, doctors, engineers, and scientists are developing technology that can help people with visual impairment.
In Japan an electronics company and a university have teamed up to work on guide robots. The project, which has been underway since 2009, now has refined their earlier models, which look less like R2-D2 and operate more like a dog now, with four robotic legs that can climb stairs, and the ability to respond to verbal instructions.
Other companies around the world are working on wearable technology, like the Eyeronman, a vest which uses LIDAR, a sort of laser radar, to detect obstacles. Smart glasses that use technology to enhance vision are another strategy being explored. And there’s the BrainPort, which converts images seen by a video camera into an “image” the user feels on his tongue.
As the article concludes, “While robots and wearable devices don’t look, bark or snuggle like dogs, the guide dogs we salute this week and the assistive technology they’ve inspired have something very important in common: both help the visually impaired lead more independent lives.”
You can read the full article at http://iq.intel.com/the-future-of-fetching-robotic-dogs-guide-the-blind/
