I was walking down the street today, minding my own business, and couldn’t help but notice the stares.
You know that feeling when you know you’re being watched but you’re not sure why?
It’s funny because usually I’m the one doing the watching.
Anyway, I did a quick search for “quadrupeds that people go crazy over” to see what the big deal was because I do look quite different than my slobbery friends trotting down Hollywood Blvd.
What is a Quadruped you ask?
Noun | quad·ru·ped ˈkwä-drə-ˌped
: an animal having four feet
This is what I discovered…
1. People in LA love their dogs and spend nearly “$35,452 over their dog’s lifetime, the highest of any state” (ktla.com)
2. Paris Hilton has two cloned dogs named Diamond and Baby (from her lost dog, Diamond Baby), through a pet cloning company called ViaClone (aired in season 2 of Paris in Love)
3. There are quadruped robots that can do backflips.
4. There are quadruped robots that are doing some other really cool things, too.
Source: GIFY / Boston Dynamics
Quadruped Robots Appearing In Your Day-to-Day Life:
Boston Dynamics’ first quadruped robot, named SPOT, first came to the commercial scene in 2019 to monitor facilities with its attached camera. And with its cool new arm, it can see and manipulate objects.
SPOT can be seen helping on the floors of manufacturers, and construction sites. You may see one alone working the floor, or a full fleet of them. They’re averaging a 90-minute operating time and a 60-minute recharge time, helping companies understand the day-to-day activities and gaps in their businesses.
Manufacturing sites aren’t the only places you may SPOT them (see what I did there)?
Quadruped robots are being utilized for a variety of public safety purposes like sniffing out contamination, and navigating ruff terrain while utilizing visual monitoring systems.
In newer developments, we’re now seeing therapy dogs being taken to another level, operating as guides to the visually impaired. RoboGuide is on a mission to support the 2.2 billion people worldwide and 2 million in the UK who experience sight loss with its AI-powered quadruped robot designed to assist visually impaired individuals in navigating indoor public spaces.
If you haven’t seen one at the mall yet, you may see a different kind of quadruped robot strolling down the street, making deliveries!
It’s only a matter of time before we all start to see quadrupeds enter our daily lives to do more than just backflips…
I guess, for the time being, I should get used to the crazy looks as I’m walking down the street.
There’s something different about me that I can’t quite put my paw on…
Guess we’ll have to wait and find out.
Oh! Did I mention that none of these robot “dogs” have heads?
Until next time…stay safe out there!
🐾 Ozzy
Sources:
1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quadruped
2) Paris In Love, Season 2
3) Boston Dynamics
4) https://www.iottechnews.com/news/2024/feb/08/robot-guide-dog-to-help-visually-impaired/
5) https://www.embedded.com/thundercomm-soms-enhance-food-delivery-robots/?nab=0
