A robotic seeing  eye dog has recently been developed by Japan’s manufacturing company NSK.  A recent article makes the point that although this seeing eye dog  won’t get distracted by squirrels or tasty treats,  it looks like this robot needs a bit more work before it can keep up with its furry counterparts.

This artificial pup isn’t the first of its kind. Big Dog was developed by Boston dynamics with funding from the US’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a quadruped robot designed to assist soldiers making their way through rough terrains.

Many people are uneasy with regards to some of the military funding of robotics; fearing that technology initially developed to benefit society could later be used in less peaceful circumstances. While this is a very valid concern, the flip side of this scenario is also possible- robotic technology initially developed for military purposes can, and is increasingly being used for domestic purposes and the general welfare of society. You can watch a video by the BBC that takes a look at cleaning machines based on military robots.