Robot guide dogs trialled in Chengdu

A four-legged robot guided a visually impaired woman along a Chengdu street on April 21, as China expanded public trials of robotic mobility aids. (globaltimes.cn) The Chengdu demonstration showed one prototype leading a woman through an outdoor route with slopes, uneven pavement and stairs, according to Global Times. Organizers described it as an “all-terrain smart guide dog” with voice interaction for daily trips such as commuting, shopping and hospital visits. (globaltimes.cn) Robot guide dogs are built to do the job of a trained service animal with cameras, sensors and software instead of sight and instinct. A Shanghai Jiao Tong University team said its field-tested model can listen to spoken commands, plan routes and identify traffic lights while guiding a user on foot. (global.sjtu.edu.cn) Chinese research teams are pushing the idea in part because trained guide dogs remain scarce. Shanghai Jiao Tong University said China has just over 400 guide dogs for almost 20 million blind people, while another team at Northwestern Polytechnical University put the count below 200 for roughly 17 million visually impaired people in a March 2024 report. (global.sjtu.edu.cn) (chinadaily.com.cn) Those projects also aim to solve problems a cane or basic electronic aid cannot. Northwestern Polytechnical University said its offline system was designed for tasks such as crossing streets, using elevators and navigating indoors, and researchers said earlier electronic aids could not hold a conversation or fully understand natural instructions. (chinadaily.com.cn) Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s earlier prototype used six legs, not four, to stay stable while walking beside a user. Professor Gao Feng said that layout works like a camera tripod: even with three legs lifted, three remain on the ground. (global.sjtu.edu.cn) (abc.net.au) Researchers are also trying different machine forms for the same task. A January 2025 overview in *Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering* said robotic guide dog systems are being developed as alternatives to traditional mobility aids, with commercialization still facing technical and practical hurdles. (nature.com) The Chengdu street trial suggests the next phase will happen in public, not just in labs. For now, the image was simple: one woman, one robot, and a test of whether a machine can safely lead someone through a crowded city. (globaltimes.cn)