A Proposal To Robotic Service Dog

A Quadruped Robot

 

Naumi Rasha

Shakir Hossain

Tafhim Khan

Germaine Gray

Robo Doges

City College Of New York 

 

May 13, 2021

 

Submitted to— 

Professor Elisabeth Von Uhl

English Department 

City College Of New York 

Contents 

Introduction                                                                                                             #3

Innovation                                                                                                               #3

Need                                                                                                                         #3

Boston Dynamic Dog                                                                                              #4        

Technical Description                                                                                           #4-5         

Cost                                                                                                                          #6

Conclusion                                                                                                           #6 -7

References                                                                                                              #8

 

We live in a world where we use robots to make our lives easier. Robots are used to perform the dangerous tasks that people do not wanna do. Robots can also work situations without getting tired and hurt. We also live in a world where individuals face many issues, like disabilities and illnesses that could leave us living in an uncomfortable situation because we don’t have the support from others and can not live like others. We need a robotic service dog because they can be used to assist people with disabilities in their daily lives and tasks. 

Service dogs are trained to help people with illnesses like diabetes, autism, and cancer. Trained dogs can help people that are visually impaired, deaf, or susceptible to getting seizures. Guide dogs use a harness that helps to guide their owner around obstacles and safely get to their next destination. Guide dogs can understand street signs and know when it’s safe to cross the road. Hearing dogs are trained to help people that are deaf. They are able to alert their owners to doorbells, alarms, and any loud or shocking noises. Hearing dogs got to be ready to work well in stressful, noisy situations. Service dogs also are used to support people who have special needs and may have difficulty with their everyday situations. These dogs are trained to assist people that suffer from panic attacks, affect post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or depression. Mobility assistance dogs are a useful help to people with limited mobility or who are in a wheelchair. For example, mobility assistance service dogs can help to select objects, open doors, turn lights on and off, push elevator buttons, or provide balance for his or her owners. People who suffer from epilepsy or seizure disorder benefit from seizure response dogs. These sorts of service dogs are ready to recognize subtle signs that an individual that is close to having a seizure. All these helpful things can be put into one robotic dog that will accompany an individual in their everyday life. People facing any sort of disability will be able to use our robotic service dog to support them like they would a normal service dog. The robotic service dog would be beneficial in more situations, where the robot will not be tired and can be at someone’s side for a long time.

In the science world,  there is an upgrade to computers and phones annually. We follow that same concept with the robotic service dog, where this innovation is not better than Spot the Boston dynamic dog because it is the foundation. This innovation is more of a separate software update and upgrades for Spot or any other quadruped robotic dog to have accessibility features. Of course, every individual situation is different and should be managed based on the case, but this innovation should decrease the difficulty and time by half. The program having that ability to adapt to the individual needs will make every robotic dog different. For example, Mental Illness is a disability that is case by case with the robotic dog analyzing the patient and adapting to the individual needs to reduce self-harm. Imagine having a pet that understands the situation you are going through and can get you the help you need or even better understand how to calm you during a panic attack without medication.

 

Figure 1. Schematic of Spot Boston Dynamic. Boston Dynamics. (2020a, June 17). [Illustration]. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/06/boston-dynamics-robot-dog-can-be-yours-for-the-low-low-price-of-74500/

 

• Payload Port: Allows payloads to be attached to the robot to provide power, time-synchronization, communication, and safety system integration.

• Stereo Camera: Equipped with five cameras that feature textured light                  

projector and point at the ground to relay the robot information on where it can move its feet next to stay stable.

• Mounting Rail: Provides mechanical attachment points to the robot.

• Handle: Allows the robot to be carried, lifted, or rolled.

• Status Light: Shows different colors depending on the status of the robot. See figure 2 for more detail.

Figure 2. Explanation of what the different status lights mean. Spot status lights. (2020, August 11). [Illustration]. https://support.bostondynamics.com/s/article/Spot-status-lights

 

The Boston Dynamic’s “Spot” retails at a price of $74,500. It features several hardware and software parts such as a manipulator, a computer, a radio, a 360 SpotCam, and a LIDAR. The manipulator is the tool that allows the Boston Dynamic Robot to “handle” things, meaning that the robot can move materials without the operator needing to make contact with it. The computer or radio is what allows for communication with the robot and it is used to control the robot. The 360 SpotCam provides live footage of the robot’s surroundings so that it may interact with it. The LIDAR allows the robot to determine distance by emitting light or lasers and estimating the time it takes to return back. Boston Dynamics “Spot” is divided into four layers: servos and kinematics, dynamics and balance, foot placement and obstacle avoidance, and navigation and autonomy. Servos controls the joints of the robot and kinematics is used to coordinate the joints. The dynamics and balance of the robot is handled by using sequential composition which breaks down the physical configuration of a robot to come up with controllers that may improve stability. Quadratic programming is used to establish foot placement and obstacle avoidance and it utilizes the visual component of the robot to analyze its surroundings and adjust its pathing. Finally, using a point cloud map acquired from Spot’s cameras and its LIDAR, it can autonomously traverse through obstacles. Its ability to do this is dependent on its sensors such as homeostasis, proprioception (self-movement), vision, and user interface (UI). 

With these accessibility features, the concept of a robotic dog can be normalized. Hopefully, it will decrease the manufacturer cost because if someone has a disability, it should cost them millions to live an average life.  Also, a robotic dog is so sophisticated and elegant. On top of that, it can do so much more than the average dog and human; it’s a rover for the earth. The biggest thing most people would say is, “a robotic dog is creepy and not as comforting as an average dog?” Which is true, but our counter-argument is before cars, they used horses for transportation; now look at the world we live in where a car is part of our average life. Also, look how appealing and advanced modern-day cars are now compared to 1885 where the first practical automobile to be powered by an internal combustion engine was invented.