MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chinese researchers use six-legged robotic dogs in Antarctica mission

Developers hope to extend the battery duration and include other safety features shortly

Chinese researchers proudly released pictures of the six-legged robot dogs used during the ongoing Antarctic mission at the Zhongshan polar research station this past weekend. These robot dogs can carry up to 100 kilograms of tools and materials and are suitable for operations in extreme weather conditions of -40 degrees Celsius.

The metal dogs are fitted with “shoes” for that purpose. These gadgets “minimize pressure when in contact with the ice, providing excellent anti-slip performance while reducing damage to the ice surface,” Mao Shijie, head of the Antarctic research missions’s robot team, told CCTV. he also heads the Shanghai Branch of the Lenovo Research Institute.

These dogs have batteries allowing for up to 2 hours of nonstop operations, it was also explained. Extra batteries can be attached if needed. The developers are seeking ways to significantly extend its battery life, it was also explained. ”For scientific research, we often need it to work for more than four hours, such as during ice surface detection. In such cases, we add two additional batteries on top of the robotic dog, ensuring it can operate for 4-6 hours,“ he went on.

”The material of the shoe itself can withstand temperatures as low as -40 C,“ Shijie noted. ”The robotic dog can walk on ice as if it were flat ground,” he added. A video aired by CCTV showed the robotic dog navigating through snow and ice, carrying a box on its back, without slipping or falling.

The research team also pointed out that in the future the robotic dog will be upgraded based on the needs of the scientific teams to support applications such as safety detection and fieldwork operations.

Data collected during on-site tests will support future upgrades and modifications of the robotic dog. The research team plans to enhance the current technology to enable the robotic dog to take on safety detection tasks. Specifically but not exclusively, these dogs are expected to carry an ice crevice detector and walk ahead of the entire team. The developers also hope to integrate the robotic dog with underwater robots and drones to perform combined operations.