We are in 2021 and so far it has been one crisis after another. What really gives me hope is the time I spend with my dog. It’s a moment away from the chaos and I often wonder if my dog knows what’s going on around us? Do our pets have a sixth sense of disaster, just like our emotions? Dogs are one of the most intelligent companions we have had, and our furry friends really form an inexplicable bond with us. What leads me to this – what is the future of robot dogs?
Without real feelings, but with increasing AI, it will surely be smarter and more effective. Dog bumps are likely to be a hybrid of a smart pet and a domestic assistant. I think features like security cameras for the eyes, while still being sweet enough to bring your newspaper and wake you up in the morning. Dog bumps can have the advantage of being low maintenance; they will not require mandatory hiking on days when you are sick, or you will panic if you forget to leave their food out during emergencies. And as you can guess, it will definitely not be a nuisance during bath time.
So it sounds like a practical option for the future, because AI will be able to closely mimic a dog’s behavior, but what about our conditioned behavior toward dogs? This conceptual Samsung dog bot replaces the characteristics of the dog with a screen, so instead of a confused head, the face screen of the robot tilts a question mark. If the tech giants want to make a robot dog, using a screen as an interactive interface will save a lot more material than using plastic-like materials to replicate the true build of your pet. With the fast pace at which AI is growing and the conceptual versions are showing, the dog bone will be able to chase balls and give you a bouncing welcome when it senses your arrival. It’s interesting how the design is so futuristic, but if you look at it, you can see that it looks like a dog. You may not have even noticed that the ‘tail’ is missing, and yet our brains have evolved to connect emotion with robots.
For most of us, our dogs are considered family. The strong bond teaches us a lot about our own emotions, to always take care of another, to communicate without a real language, and the invincible power of puppy eyes! While technology can make robots so realistic that we begin to ask what is real, can something like a dog putting its head on your lap never be repeated by a bot? Let’s take a claw (look what I did there?) And think about what life would be like if Samsung were to make a robot dog like this.
Designer: Gaetano De Cicco
