Robot dogs have been around for a while now, but most of them can’t replace the emotional connection that exists between us and man’s best friend.
But with a little help from artificial intelligence (AI), robotics company Koda thinks it can change that. Its new robot dog is specifically designed to socially interact with people, and can even understand human emotions.
In an attempt to replicate the bond between real-life dogs and their owners, Koda uses its AI system to help the robot dog sense whether its owner is happy, sad or excited, and over time the dog is able to learn and train itself on how best to respond to how humans are feeling.
Check it out in more detail below:
Koda isn’t the first company to produce a robotic emotional support pet, but its robot dogs are among the most advanced out there. As well as acting as a companion, its dogs can also act as guide dogs for the visually impaired, or even as guard dogs – although, reassuringly, they’re not able to attack humans. Unlike the robotic dogs developed by Boston Dynamics, Koda’s dogs are limited to learning from what they encounter, meaning each dog will develop its own unique set of skills and experiences.
