Prague's underground tunnels being mapped by robot dogs
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Loading... - Veronica Cerny
- 12 Jul 2022
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The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Prague’s Czech Technical University recently acquired two new assistants – agile dog-like machines with robotic arms that can navigate terrain and capture data – and is using them to create a digital 3D map of Prague’s underground tunnel network.
Spot, as its name suggests, is somewhat reminiscent of a bright yellow robotic dog. But this ‘robodog’ from US company Boston Dynamics can do a lot more than sit and come when called, as professor Tomáš Svoboda explains:
“It’s a quadruped robot with an integrated robotic arm, that’s essentially able to manipulate objects, even open and close doors. One of the unique features is that the arm, and more precisely the gripper, is equipped with sensors in the palm, so the robotic arm can perceive the environment – it can see, it has an RGB camera and also a depth sensor, so it can measure the distance to the object it is going to grasp.”
The two robots have already been put to use in Prague’s network of underground tunnels, managed by the firm Kolektory Praha. The network essentially contains the infrastructure of the city – gas pipes, electricity, sewage, and so on. The robots are being used to create a 3D map which will allow for a virtual tour of the system, accessible to the public. Tomáš Svoboda again:
“The network used to be accessible to the public but it’s not anymore, so as a replacement the company wanted a 3D model to allow people to see it virtually. More or less like you can walk through a map using Google Street view.” Read More...
