Osaka University’s Adaptive Robotics Lab has developed a robot that could be the closest thing we’ve seen to a pet dog.
PnueHound has been designed to act like a puppy, with artificial muscles that work precisely like those seen in a pup. This means it moves exactly like a dog and if you decide to take it for a walk, be prepared to get a workout yourself, because it can run at speeds up to 5.9 mph, which will have you walking at a very brisk pace beside it.
You hang onto a lead, as if you were taking a real dog on a walk, and it’ll happily trot beside you if it’s feeling chilled out, with its stubby legs seemingly working overtime.
The PnueHound will greet you when you get home after work, just like a real dog and it’ll get to know you inside out, as if it’s your very own pup, making it one of the most intelligent robot dogs out there.
It doesn’t however, look much like a dog though – at the moment, its chassis is a metal frame, meaning it’s not particularly cuddly like a puppy. It’s not ready to be released in shops quite yet, but we do hope this little critter is launched at some point in the future, because who needs the gym when you can casually take your robot dog out for a walk?
While you’re eagerly waiting for PnueHound to break free from the shackles of the lab, check out Wowwee’s Chip and Domgy for a pet dog that’s a whole lot cleaner than a real dog, but will still become a companion for life.
