This AI-powered robot dog looks like something from The Terminator
Tecno Mobile has taken to Mobile World Congress 2024 to announce the Tecno Dynamic 1, a robotic and AI-enhanced dog, reigniting the futuristic sci-fi dream for millions of nerds.
The Dynamic 1 has been painstakingly created to emulate a real dog as closely as possible, with its design based on the German Shepherd breed. A cooling system within the Dynamic 1’s knees allows the robot to copy dog movements, letting it climb stairs, bow, and offer a paw for handshakes. Four microphones work with an AI algorithm within the dog’s head to recognize audio prompts, so you can treat it just like a normal dog – but without any poop to pick up.
Unlike normal dogs, though, the Dynamic 1 comes with a spec sheet. An 8-core ARM CPU powers the AI HyperSense Fusion System, which is tasked with making sure the robot can constantly correct itself while walking. Data from an Intel RealSense S430 depth camera, along with dual optical and infrared sensors, helps identify obstacles and guide the dog around them — and make sure it can get itself up when it does fall. Also included is 64GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 support, and smartphone app controls. Fido certainly doesn’t have that.
Humans have had a fascination with robot dogs for a long time, to the point there’s even a lengthy Wikipedia list of them. They range from the adorably useful to the downright terrifying. It proves that, well, we love dogs so much that we idealize having an immortal metal version of them. But outside of the cool cyberpunk aesthetic, this could be a way to offer companionship to people who might not be otherwise able to adopt a regular dog. Those who live in homes not suitable for pets or people who travel for work a lot, but still crave the simple companionship of an animal could benefit from a product like this.
The Dynamic 1 does have an Achilles’ heel, though. While the battery is a 15,000mAh monster, that won’t power it for very long, as it’ll only last around 90 minutes between charges. However, there’s a modular design that lets you swap batteries in and out quickly, so man’s new best friend can keep on going for longer.
While this first generation of AI-powered robo dog isn’t likely to find mass adoption, and will probably have its fair share of bugs and issues, there’s definitely room in the future for the humble robotic canine. As for those who say that a soulless robot would be a poor substitute for a real animal, perhaps they’re right – but humans will pack bond with anything, and we challenge you to be alone with the Dynamic 1 and not start to treat it like a real dog.
