Looking to the future: how will guide dogs react to robots?

Starship Technologies is testing how its robots will affect guide dogs 
Guide dogs met Starship's autonomous drones in different scenarios
Starships Technologies
Amelia Heathman19 December 2018

You might recognise Starship Technologies cute drone robots. They've been delivering Dominos Pizza in Germany or JustEat takeaway food closer to home in Greenwich, London.

As these tiny delivery robots become more prevalent, the company has been researching how the drones will affect visually impaired people on UK pavements who use guide dogs.

To conduct the research, Starship teamed up with Guide Dogs in Milton Keynes. The study saw guide dogs, accompanied by either their owners or trainers, encounter the robots on the pavements.

The researchers tried out different meeting scenarios including robots meeting the dogs face on or from behind, overtaking one another and heading towards each other at a road crossing.

All of the dogs involved in the study reacted calmly. They mostly stopped before the robot approached and there were no adverse reactions. Guide Dogs will take on these results and use them to train their new recruits, encouraging them to treat the drones just like any other obstacle on the pavement.

Starship says it plans to expand the project to include more extensive testing to see how its drones will affect people with a spectrum of visual impairments.

John Welsman, Policy Lead, Travel and Mobility at Guide Dogs, said: “Technology is constantly changing our environment and the way we live, so it’s vital that Guide Dogs as an organisation leads the way in shaping that environment for people with a vision impairment.

"We want all our guide dog owners and their dogs to feel confident about navigating the streets of the future, so we’re really pleased to have the opportunity to work with Starship on this initial study.”

A guide dog interacting with a Starship robot
Starships Technologies

This isn’t the first time Guide Dogs has teamed up with a tech company to explore how technological developments will affect the people it serves. The organisation worked with Microsoft on its Soundscape app which uses 3D audio cues to help people with visual impairments to navigate the world using their smartphone.

This is all part of the Guide Dogs Cities Unlocked project, which explores how our changing cities will develop and affect people with sight loss.

As well, it’s an indicator of something all tech companies need to remember: that when they’re designing their products they need to ensure they work for all members of society.

Lex Bayer, CEO of Starship Technologies, added: "We believe that autonomous delivery can play an important role in supporting all individuals within communities by making people’s lives more convenient, including the visually impaired.

“Working seamlessly alongside residents is a top priority for us, and we are continually looking at ways to enhance our services by engaging with organisations such as Guide Dogs to do just this".

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