Robotic dogs walk, wag and climb for College of STEM students, professors

Students and employees watch as Unitree quadruped robots venture around the room.

(Posted on Wednesday, Aug. 24)

Austin Peay State University College of STEM students and employees got to take the controls of three Unitree quadruped robots, commonly known as robotic dogs, on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

They guided the robots, which mimic the movements of dogs and cats, through several maneuvers – including walking, rolling, wagging and even climbing stairs – through the Technology Building bay.

The robots are on a tour through Tennessee with Stokes Educational Services, the North American distributor and secondary developers for and . Dozens of Austin Peay students and employees came to see the robots in action.

“People see this technology, and they say, ‘I saw that on YouTube, but I haven’t seen it in real life,’ and we want them to see what it’s going to be like so they get an idea about what they’re going to have in their homes,” said Robert Stokes of Stokes Educational Services. “It’s not just going to be in a university setting in a classroom environment. It’s going to be out there in all different areas of their lives.”

The college educators on hand also got to see how they might integrate the robots into their curricula.

On display Wednesday were two – one equipped with a security package – and a larger . The standard Go1 models can be used in engineering and programming classes, Stokes said, and then equipped to respond quickly to a security lockdown on college and high school campuses.

In addition to showing off the robots’ walking, rolling and climbing capabilities, Stokes picked up one of the robots and dropped it, showing how the machine could land on all four feet like a cat.

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