A team of scientists in Italy has successfully created a robotic dog that has the ability to pick up cigarette butts while walking, and its appearance is quite endearing.
Robotic dogs have been around for quite some time. The tech world has witnessed a range of these canine robots, from the Poo-Chi robot dog toy in the early 00s to Boston Dynamics’ variety of robotic pooches.
The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed a new robotic dog with the goal of improving the world. This AI-powered robot has been specifically designed to use its feet to collect discarded cigarette butts on beaches.
In contrast to your regular household Roomba, the “Vaccum-cleaner Equipped Robot” (VERO) is a specialized robot with a “Dynamic Legged Unit”design. This robotic dog features vacuum cleaner nozzles on all four of its legs, enabling it to effectively collect any identified cigarette butts.
According to the initial report from IEEE Spectrum, the VERO is essentially the AlienGO robot by Unitree, but with a vacuum attached to its back resembling a backpack.
In addition to its feet, the robot also has a variety of onboard cameras, including an Intel RealSense depth camera located on its chin. This allows it to effectively search for and collect any discarded items on the ground.
The supported journal published on April 29 2024 explains that other wheeled and tracked robots face difficulties when dealing with specific terrains.
Beaches with sandy terrain, such as the ones showcased in the YouTube video of Genoa, are not suitable for wheeled transportation.
The VERO, equipped with a mounted vacuum, is capable of navigating these areas and can even ascend stairs and overcome other obstacles. Tests conducted in various terrains showed that the VERO has a success rate of 90% in collecting cigarette butts through suction.
The IIT acknowledges that it is not the first to attempt this feat. Nevertheless, it is the first instance where such a design and approach have been introduced and proven effective on a robot with legs.
The Dynamic Legged Systems Lab, which is located at IIT where VERO was created, utilized information stating that approximately 4.5 trillion cigarettes are released into the environment annually.
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