By Joe Pinkstone
Dyson engineers have invented a four-legged robodog that can vacuum carpets, mow the lawn and water plants.
The company has been granted a patent for a housekeeping robot that can be used to clean a home or a commercial environment such as a hotel.
Small and flat “biscuit tin” robotic vacuum cleaners are becoming increasingly popular, but the new invention is more versatile and complicated.
Robo dog vacuum.Credit: SMH
The new patent, which was granted in October, is for a four-legged machine that resembles the robotic attack hounds that featured in the television show Black Mirror.
In 2016, Boston Dynamics, a US company, unveiled Spot, a four-legged dog-like machine that sells for about $US75,000 ($114,000). It is now being used to inspect nuclear fusion reactors, to deliver parcels and as potential weapons of war.
But engineers at Dyson hope their version will be used to help people combat the never-ending list of household chores.
The Dyson invention would resemble Boston Dynamics’ Spot Mini robot dog.Credit:
The patent describes a rechargeable four-legged robot with an extendable “housekeeping module” fastened underneath the main body of the machine, to help it access spots that are tricky to reach.
A nozzle will protrude under the “head” of the machine, which is intended for use inside and outside, according to the patent filing. It is imagined that the unnamed machine will be able to tackle tasks such as vacuuming, mopping, watering the grass, mowing the lawn and blowing away leaves.
It is designed to move around under its own power and sit down when finished so that the cleaning module can be removed, either to be recharged, maintained or switched out for another module, such as replacing a lawn mowing module with one for mopping.
“With a housekeeping module attached, the robot may be able to clean under and between more obstacles, increasing the coverage,” Dyson writes in its patent.
“The robot does not need to navigate into tight gaps. The user is able to easily insert or remove a module without having to reach underneath the robot.
“The robot can be in a stable, unpowered state during user module exchange, which may decrease the risk of injury.”
It says the machine is designed to have four legs, each with a knee-like joint and pads on its feet, but these could also be replaced with wheels if needed.
The Roomba Combo J7+ vacuums and mops. It also intrigues cats.Credit:
While the robot visually resembles the Boston Dynamics four-legged machines, there are differences, such as the back legs facing backwards on the Dyson dog. There was no mention of how the machine would navigate its environment.
Dyson, famed for its vacuum cleaners and its innovative fans and hair tools, is the second most prolific filer of patents in Britain. There is no guarantee the invention will ever become a product, if it will ever be brought to market, or how much it would cost.
David Shrier, professor of practice, AI and innovation at Imperial College London, said we would see more automated helpers in our everyday lives as robots improved and integrated AI.
“People are probably familiar with the Roomba and similar robotic cleaning systems; they have been tremendous labour-saving devices, which expand on the capability of the humble vacuum cleaner,” he said.
“Envisioned versions of the future in sci-fi like William Gibson’s gardening ‘crabs’ and Minority Report’s intelligence spiders are now turning into engineering reality, and I’m delighted to see my colleagues at Dyson pursuing practical, helpful applications of this technology.”
Professor Adrian Hopgood, an independent consultant in AI and emeritus professor of intelligent systems at Portsmouth University, said the robodog patent brought existing technologies together in one invention to maximise benefit, much as Apple did with the first iPhone in 2007.
“The patent brings together existing technologies like those behind the Boston Dynamics dog, robotic vacuum cleaners and visual recognition systems,” he said.
“Some of the most impactful inventions comprise existing inventions repackaged. The most famous example is probably the smartphone, and the iPhone specifically, and in that respect Dyson is following a similar path.”
The Telegraph, London
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