Scientists Have Created a Robotic Seeing Eye Dog
Despite their ability to improve the livelihoods of visually-impaired people, guide dogs are actually pretty rare. Roughly 2 percent of all people who are blind or visually impaired have access to the animals, according to the National Federation of the Blind.
Much of this is due to the cost: training one of these canines from puppy to working dog can cost up to $50,000 to $60,000 a year. About half of the puppies who enter training aren’t able to complete it either. Researchers want to find ways to cut down both on the money, resources, and time required to train these animals. If they do so, it could drastically increase accessibility for blind and visually-impaired people.
While nothing beats having a loyal pup, some scientists believe that there could be a technological alternative. That’s why a team of engineers at Binghamton University in New York have created a seeing eye robotic dog capable of guiding the visually impaired.