The Chinese company Xiaomi αποκάλυψε ένα τετράποδο ρομπότ με το όνομα CyberDog: ένα πειραματικό μηχάνημα ανοιχτού code which the company says has "incredible potential".
CyberDog is the latest example of technology companies wanting quadrupeds in robotics. The most notable example of the trend is the Spot, a machine made by the American company Boston Dynamics. The Spot was launched last year for $ 74.500 and has many different uses, from inspecting hazardous mines to helping doctors connect with their patients remotely. It has also been tested by both law enforcement and the military, without a weapon.
It is not known what purpose Xiaomi envisions for CyberDog. In a press release, the company emphasized the open source nature of its design machineand that only 1.000 units will be released initially for “Xiaomi fans, engineers and robot enthusiasts”.
The company says it hopes these first users will "promote the development and capabilities of four-legged robots". The first 1.000 units will cost just $ 9.999, or about $ 1.540 (it is unclear if the price will be the same for future releases).
The same press release states that the CyberDog has the ability to respond to voice commands and follow its owner like a real dog. However, looking at the CyberDog images, it is clear that Xiaomi is not proposing the machine as a rival to the Spot. 
Xiaomi says CyberDog is agile enough to do backflips, can walk at speeds of 3,2m/s (versus Spot's 3,9m/s) and weighs 3kg (versus Spot's 5,2kg). CyberDog is powered by Nvidia's Jetson Xavier AI platform and is equipped with a range of cameras και αισθητήρες. Αυτά περιλαμβάνουν αισθητήρες αφής, μονάδα GPS, fisheye φακούς ευρείας γωνίας και μια κάμερα RealSense D450 της Intel για ανίχνευση βάθους. Αυτά τα στοιχεία επιτρέπουν στο ρομπότ να περιηγείται ημιαυτόνομα.
“CyberDog can analyze its environment in real time, create navigation maps, plan its destination and avoid obstacles. Combined with human attitude and tracking recognitionface, the CyberDog is able to follow its owner and escape obstacles,” Xiaomi reports. The machine can also respond to voice commands, recognize words and wake-up instructions, or can be controlled using a smartphone app.
The CyberDog also has three USB-C ports and an HDMI port, which Xiaomi says can be used to customize hardware. The company says that LED sensors, panoramic cameras and search lights could be added to the robot.
