Astro The Dog-Inspired Quadruped Robot Can Sit, Lie Down, And Learn Digital Trends

It's one thing to claim that you're the leader in a particular market when you're one of the only ones competing in it. It's another altogether to enter a crowded sector and claim that you've hit a home run. That's what researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics Laboratory say they've achieved with their new dog-inspired quadruped robot. Joining the likes of Boston Dynamics' Spot robot and the oil rig-inspecting Anymal, they have built a new Doberman pinscher-inspired robot dog called Astro -- and they're confident that they're onto a winner. "We honestly think Astro may be the coolest robot on the planet right now," Elan Barenholtz, an associate professor in FAU's Department of Psychology, told Digital Trends.