四足机器人也许有一天会和导盲犬一较高下

原文链接：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3HIfaRytCg

 This obstacle-avoiding Unitree A1 robot can be steered via directional tugs on its leash

Stephen Folkerts '24

这个Unitree A1机器人可以通过牵引绳上的定向牵引装置来控制它躲避障碍物。

史蒂芬·福克茨的《24小时》

While seeing-eye dogs can be very helpful to the blind, raising and training them is a long and expensive process. Scientists have therefore recently started investigating the possibility of outsourcing the job to dog-like quadruped robots.

虽然看导盲犬对盲人很有帮助，但饲养和训练导盲犬是一个漫长而昂贵的过程。因此，科学家们最近开始研究将这项工作外包给类似狗的四足机器人的可能性。

According to Guide Dogs of America, it costs approximately US$48,000 to breed, raise and train a single seeing-eye dog.

据美国导盲犬协会称，培育、饲养和训练一只单眼犬的费用约为48000美元。

Although the end user doesn't pay that price, they do have to cover the usual expenses that come with dog ownership. Additionally, the dog typically must be trained by the provider for at least five to eight months, after which further training with the user is required.

虽然最终用户不支付这个价格，但他们必须支付养狗的日常费用。此外，狗通常必须由提供者训练至少五到八个月，之后需要与使用者进行进一步的训练。

By contrast, quadruped robots can be preprogrammed, they don't require food, water or exercise, and they can be purchased for as little as US$1,500. With these and other selling points in mind, Asst. Prof. Shiqi Zhang and colleagues at New York's Binghamton University set about seeing what sort of guide dog a Unitree A1 robot would make.

相比之下，四足机器人可以预先编程，不需要食物、水或锻炼，而且只需1500美元就可以买到。考虑到这些和其他卖点，纽约宾厄姆顿大学的张士奇助理教授和同事们开始研究Unitree A1机器人能制造出什么样的导盲犬。

The commercially available bot comes standard with sensors that allow it to perform functions such as obstacle detection/avoidance, trajectory planning, and navigation – all of which would come in very handy for guiding blind users.

商用机器人标配传感器，可以执行障碍物检测/规避、轨迹规划和导航等功能，所有这些都非常方便地引导盲人用户。

Working with computer science students David DeFazio and Eisuke Hirota, Zhang designed and added an interface to which an ordinary dog leash was attached. Via a reinforcement learning process, custom locomotion control software was then "trained" to turn the robot left or right when the user tugged the leash in the corresponding direction.

张与计算机科学专业的学生David DeFazio和Eisuke Hirota合作，设计并添加了一个连接普通狗绳的界面。通过强化学习过程，当用户向相应方向拖动牵引绳时，定制的运动控制软件被“训练”为向左或向右转动机器人。

In a recent demonstration, the adapted Unitree A1 was able to guide a person along a hallway, and it readily responded to their directional leash-tugs at an intersection within that hall. It's a good start, but more work still needs to be done.

在最近的一次演示中，经过改装的Unitree A1能够引导一个人沿着走廊走，它很容易地对他们在大厅内十字路口的定向牵引绳做出反应。这是一个良好的开端，但还有更多的工作要做。

"Our next step is to add a natural language interface," says Zhang. "So ideally, I could have a conversation with the robot based on the situation to get some help. Also, intelligent disobedience is an important capability. For example, if I’m visually impaired and I tell the robot dog to walk into traffic, we would want the robot to understand that. We should disregard what the human wants in that situation."

“我们的下一步是增加一个自然语言界面，”张说。“所以理想情况下，我可以根据情况与机器人进行对话，以获得一些帮助。此外，智能抗命是一种重要的能力。例如，如果我有视力障碍，我告诉机器狗走进车流，我们希望机器人理解这一点。在这种情况下，我们应该无视人类的需求。”

And while blind people may conceivably be able to buy such robots one day, it is also envisioned that the bots could available for temporary use at difficult-to-navigate locations such as shopping malls and airports.

虽然盲人可能有一天能买到这样的机器人，但也有人设想，这些机器人可以在购物中心和机场等难以导航的地方临时使用。

Source: Binghamton University

资料来源：宾厄姆顿大学

 

智能佳机器人

400 099 1872

www.bjrobot.com