Pets are one of life’s great pleasures, but there’s no disputing that they’re a ton of work. Cleaning, vet visits, and walks are just the beginning, so it’s always interesting to see the products that promise to make pet ownership more manageable. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, filed a patent for a self-driving dog-walking robot that looks nearly as advanced as many cars today.
Logic helps the bot determine when to clean up a mess. Toyota
The main structure appears to be a platform with various attachments, and though the intention is for the machine to walk the dog for you, there’s space for a person to ride. The vehicle is completely autonomous and does not require a person to guide it on walks. Sensors keep the robot from running over the dog and maintain speed.The patent paperwork includes several decision trees and logic for how the vehicle responds in various dog walking scenarios. One uses the vehicle’s sensors to gauge the dog’s distance from the robot. If the dog wanders too far, the machine can lock the leash and adjust its speed to maintain proper distance. It’s the same sort of “thinking” done by autonomous cars on the road, just adjusted for scooping poop and leash management.
Speaking of number-two, dogs tend to poop when they walk, so Toyota had to prepare the robot for some poop scooping. In its decision-making process, Toyota added logic that asks, “Is it detected that the dog has pooped?” If the answer is yes, the machine is then instructed to “Execute collection process.” A camera helps determine when the pooping has happened so the machine can do its job. If the dog pees, there’s a water sprayer with an onboard tank to rinse the ground.
If your dog is anything like some of ours, it’s likely you don’t make through more than a few walks without some antics. Our lazy pups frequently get tired of walking and decide it’s time for a mid-sidewalk nap, but Toyota’s dog walker isn’t going to tolerate any of that. The platform features paw sensors that can sense the dog’s position and even let it do some driving.
The bot will scoop poop and wash away pee during a walk.
Toyota’s patent filing is fun to think about and imagine what could be, but it’s still just a patent. The automaker could turn its idea into a line of puppy walkers sold at dealers across the country or file it away as a thought exercise, never to be seen again. Either way, Toyota’s got an exciting year ahead of it with the GR Corolla release and bZ4X hitting the streets, and there are rumors of a Crown SUV coming to the automaker’s lineup.
