National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday unveiled Taiwan’s first artificial intelligence (AI) robot dogs, which can work in industrial settings to alleviate labor shortages and assist during rescue operations.
The team who worked on the “NTU DogBot” project, led by mechanical engineering professor Kuo Chung-hsien (郭重顯), demonstrated the two models, dubbed Oliver and Dustin, at the National Science and Technology Council’s headquarters in Taipei, as the council helped fund the project.
Kuo and council officials said the project is just the start of Taiwan’s AI robot dog industry, which would be competitive in the global market, as the robots’ projected production cost of US$50,000 is about 50 percent less than what companies from other countries have quoted.
Photo: CNA
Oliver, the “pet robot dog” version, weighs 16kg and is 54cm long, while Dustin, the “field operations robot dog,” weighs 40kg and is about twice the size, Kuo said.
As both are equipped with sensors, can navigate autonomously and are capable of AI learning, the team expects them to be able to climb stairs and move over complex terrain by the end of this year, he said.
The team developed the robots by integrating new technologies while working with domestic companies to gain an understanding of their potential applications in different industrial sectors, Kuo said.
They could help to alleviate Taiwan’s labor shortage, especially in the petrochemical, construction, railway, food delivery and service sectors, he said.
The four-legged robots can navigate complex terrain, and could also be used for rescue operations, Kuo said, adding that robot dogs have been used to film the inside of burning buildings before firefighters go in.
Dustin is suitable for industrial applications and food deliveries, as the robot has sensors that can pick up sound, temperature, gas and other readings, while Oliver has slightly different functions, as it can respond to voice controls and facial expressions, and is more suitable for the home environment, he said.
The NTU team began Taiwan’s AI robot dog project two years ago, in cooperation with the council, after finding that similar robots produced overseas were quite expensive and had problems integrating with Taiwan’s digital network and AI systems, Kuo said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS