Robot Guide Dog

TRANSCRIPT
Robot Guide Dog

NARRATOR:
Unlike most dogs, this one doesn’t need to go for walks. It’s a robot and it’s helping Kyle, who is visually impaired, move around more easily.

UPSOUND:
"Description."
"You can see the Scotland 5G Centre poster in front of you."

NARRATOR:
This robotic dog is being developed at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. It’s designed to help people with sight loss find their way around indoor spaces, like shops, museums, or stations.

SOUNDBITE - Kyle Somerville:
"A lot of the time being able to go around like a supermarket or have it read what's in front of you or have it read information about a place is going to be so much easier than asking a staff member. It's amazing. It's brand new technology, something that I can be involved in and hopefully at some point in the future everyone will have one of these, which would be amazing."

NARRATOR:
More than two million people in the UK live with sight loss. Tools like the ‘Robo Guide’ could inspire even more smart inventions to help them.

SOUNDBITE - Dr Olaoluwa Popoola:
"I would like to say that this would not be a replacement for guide dogs because that's like hundreds of years of evolution, but it would be more like a companion, a substitute that would work with guide dogs."

NARRATOR:
A traditional guide dog learns to understand its owner and help them stay safe. The Robo Guide won’t replace that relationship - it will work beside it, like a digital partner.

UPSOUND:
“Attempting navigation to lab.”

NARRATOR:
By using new technology, this robot could give people with sight loss more independence, freedom, and a modern companion.