Xiaomi Reveals CyberDog: The Affordable Option Compared To Boston Dynamics’ Spot
Duane Beckett
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The Chinese Tech giant Xiaomi revealed their latest tech gizmo, the CyberDog on August 10th, 2021. A 4-legged robot that looks very similar to another mechanic canine we know and love, Boston Dynamics Spot:
Even though these both share similarities in their overall look and functionality, the way both projects are presented to the public are vastly different.
Boston dynamics have been developing quadrupedal robots for a few years now and most of their applications involve law enforcement, disaster management, and the military. With the technology behind the robot dog being very confidential.
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The Open Source Cyber Dog
Meanwhile, according to Xiaomi, their Cyber Dog is an open-source platform. They will be releasing the robot’s design and code out to the public to be built upon. A move that could revolutionize the development of such robotic sidekicks.
As we have seen how making platforms open source can accelerate development. The Arduino project is a perfect example. It started with the purpose of making single-board microcontrollers more accessible to students, novices, and even professionals. So, they created open-source hardware and software and released it to the public. And since then, Arduino boards have become universally popular in both professional projects and hobby projects.
Xiaomi is aiming to do something very similar with Cyber Dog. They want to give access to community developers worldwide and to experiment with both the hardware and software they will be releasing.
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The Tech Behind The Cyber Dog
According to details released by Xiaomi, the robot will be powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Xavier NX platform. Using 11 built-in sensors, including cameras, touch senores, and GPS to aid the dog in its tasks.
The chinses tech company has revealed that initially, they will only be releasing 1000 units. The Cyber Dog is priced at $1,540. Which is practically a steal compared to Boston Dynamics Spot, which was listed for about $74,000.
In terms of hardware specs, it is being powered by an AI Supercomputer for Embedded and Edge Systems that includes 384 CUDA® Cores, 48 Tensor Cores, a 6 Carmel ARM CPU, and 2 deep learning acceleration engines. All of this is on Nvidia’s Jetson Xavier Program.
According to details released by Xiaomi, the CyberDog can run at speeds of up to 3.2m/s and do complicated tasks such as backflips. In comparison, Boston Dynamics Spot can only do 1.6 m/s.
“CyberDog can analyze its surroundings in real-time, create navigational maps, plot its destination, and avoid obstacles. Coupled with human posture and face recognition tracking, CyberDog is capable of following its owner and darting around obstructions”
Xiaomi’s official page
Cyber Dog Conclusion
So, it’s clear that Xiaomi is looking to move into the robotics side of technology. And with these impressive features and the open-source nature of the project. It will surely be a hit among professionals and enthusiasts alike. We just have to wait and see if the robot lives up to all the hype Xiaomi has created around it.
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