© ROOT-NATION.com - Use of content is permitted with a backlink.
A robotic guide dog has made its debut in China amid a severe shortage of live four-legged assistants. The device, equipped with wheels and four limbs, is designed to assist people with visual impairments, demonstrating the drive to integrate AI and robotics into new areas of life. The development was presented by a defense research center in Beijing. It is positioned as the world’s first wheeled-and-walking guide dog for the blind, exemplifying the military-industrial sector’s transition to civilian applications.
The Zhiyuan Research Institute in Hangzhou, a subsidiary of China North Industries Group – the country’s largest defense contractor – is responsible for developing the robot, named Xiaoyuan. The device was demonstrated on Friday at the China Care and Rehabilitation Expo in Beijing.
According to the developers, the model features wheels for smooth movement on flat surfaces and four legs for navigating stairs, enabling the visually impaired to move around without assistance. The wheeled design ensures quiet operation, which is extremely important for users who navigate their surroundings using their sense of hearing. In addition, the device can detect overhead obstacles, such as low-hanging tree branches, which are difficult to notice with a conventional cane. The robot ensures positioning accuracy outdoors with a margin of error of less than 30 cm. Its success rate for avoiding obstacles is 99% indoors and 96% outdoors.
Xiaoyuan is connected to the infrastructure of disability federations, accessible maps, and a remote volunteer support platform, allowing users to receive online assistance when needed. According to May data from the state-run Xinhua News Agency, citing CAPVD, there are more than 17 million people with visual impairments living in China. However, there are only about 400 guide dogs in the country. Training a single guide dog takes about one year and costs approximately 200,000 yuan ($29,776).
The Zhiyuan Research Institute has already signed strategic cooperation agreements with organizations for people with disabilities in the eastern province of Zhejiang, its capital Hangzhou, and in Inner Mongolia. Testing and pilot launches of the system have already begun in the Hangzhou subway and shopping malls. At the same time, other companies are also expanding the use of AI and robotics in the country. For example, Beijing-based AI Robotics and Hangzhou-based RoboCT are producing exoskeletons for medical facilities and rehabilitation centers to help patients regain mobility.
Read also: Prime Video Casts a New RoboCop: Who Will Play Alex Murphy in the Series?