Black Mirror-like robodog 'Astro' can respond to commands such as 'sit', 'stand' and 'lie down'

With his 3-D printed doberman-like head, robot dog Astro may look like something out of a Black Mirror episode -- but this clever canine may be our new best friend. Powered by artificial intelligence technology, the metallic mutt can presently respond to simple commands like'sit', 'stand' and'lie down'. However, by training him in thousands of different scenarios, this robot dog is capable of learning new tricks. His developers expect that he will eventually be able to recognise different languages, hand signals, people and other dogs -- and even team up with drones. Astro is intended to help security forces sniff out prohibited items and first responders scour disaster sites -- but he might even find work as a guide dog.