Robo-Guide Dog
This Robo-Guide Dog was thought of and created by the Japanese company SNK in 2005. It has since been improved and added onto. This creation is to do the same work as an alive guide-dog would, although taking away the occasional dog like manners towards people passing by. Although, this robot creation can only move 3.8 kilometers per hour, so it still has some room for improvement. Another improvement that has been thought about in the designing process was equipping the robot with a GPS.
I do see the positives in this new robot. It would be very helpful for the people who do need a guide-dog to get around- as that was the purpose for this entire creation. I believe it has a lot of work and improvements to be made before this can happen. The thought to add a GPS system would be extremely helpful, but until then, could possibly be dangerous as the person cannot see where they are going and putting their entire trust in their new robotic guide-dogs. This could possibly end in very bad situations- such as leading the blind person to the wrong location and not knowing how to get back. Also, the robot was said to be very slow. I don't see this as a major downfall, as I would think that a blind person does not walk at high speeds, but a little faster would probably be of help.
I do see the positives in this new robot. It would be very helpful for the people who do need a guide-dog to get around- as that was the purpose for this entire creation. I believe it has a lot of work and improvements to be made before this can happen. The thought to add a GPS system would be extremely helpful, but until then, could possibly be dangerous as the person cannot see where they are going and putting their entire trust in their new robotic guide-dogs. This could possibly end in very bad situations- such as leading the blind person to the wrong location and not knowing how to get back. Also, the robot was said to be very slow. I don't see this as a major downfall, as I would think that a blind person does not walk at high speeds, but a little faster would probably be of help.
On Flat Ground
The last critique that I would like to make is about the lack of human (or animal in this case) interaction. I know that I am very close to my own animals, and I would think that people with guide-dogs would feel the same connection to them- seeing they are together all the time to help get around. Lacking this, especially with a person who might have difficulty having these human interactions because of their disability, I see as a major downfall. I feel that they would really be missing out on a long lasting friendship that they can't get with just being guided by a robot.