The search-and-rescue test involved sending the dogs through a concrete pipe into the “collapsed building” at an emergency-response training centre. They had been trained to bark when they found a point of interest. When they did so, the harnessed unlocked and deployed the robots, which then sent back a video feed via an attached wire linking the machine to its operators. One of the problems faced by the researchers was that as the robot twisted itself about, the video also rotated, making it difficult to navigate the machine. A software-based fix ensured the video would always appear the right way up, whatever way the robot’s camera was angled.
Read more: BBC News