Xiaomi CyberDog 2 | Hacker News Reader

Xiaomi CyberDog 2

xiaomiui.net

59 pointscroes48 comments

Cyberdog 2's specs are genuinely p impressive: 19 sensors, proprietary micro-actuators, dynamic stability, and it's just 8.9kg! Pretty crazy they were able to fit all that in such a small form factor. Xiaomi's investment in this is evident.

I'm a bit puzzled by their choice of modeling it after a Doberman. I would've thought a more universally appealing breed or a unique design might resonate better, unless there's some cultural nuance I'm not aware of?

The open-source nature is commendable, but there's a definite concern for potential misuse/surveillance applications. Esp given the current tech landscape. Yet, it's a bit rich to single out Xiaomi, considering Alexa, Ring, and Roomba devices. Makes me wonder about my ThermaPen

Based on the form they couldn't really go with something else. Also conveys the primary "real world use" here, security/perimeter surveillance.

That's true, doberman has an aggressive feels that's not what xiaomi conveyed usually.

Maybe they want to trigger security / safety rather than family pet.

Probably going for a security angle. Bet we're gonna see it plug in to xiaomi's security camera platform.

19 sensors is more than a real dog!

Depends how we count; how many nerve endings per square inch of skin?

Surprising hostility here. It’s a toy. It doesn’t need to have any value. Concerns about it snooping on you would have been valid if all of us weren’t trotting around with multiple spying devices on our person already.

This kind of reminds me of all the weird toys people would buy in the 90s and 00s. Just an infinite amount of junk that would get used four times and then stored somewhere in a McMansion and never used again.

I’m sure people will buy this thing and show it off to their friends and all their friends will be very impressed and maybe buy their own. But this really doesn’t have a lasting appeal. Is this something you’re going to use every day? Will you recharge it to use it again after a year?

To me the Billy Bass (the singing fish) is the epitome of this.

Strong vibes of Metal Head - Black Mirror. An excellent episode if anyone hasn't seen it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror)

Now I'm wondering if this will manage to become the first tech product named "Cyberdog" to go past version 2...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdog

These robots always look strained. Their movement is not natural, I think because of not being energy efficient. Passive bipedal walkers* look more human like than anything that has come out of Boston Dynamics.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhu2xNIpgDE

I think this has a lot of potential. Specially for the female demographic as a safety “device”. Think of the security uses when it can be put in “security or guard mode” as an always on, always recording , gps enabled, in communication with law enforcement guard dog. Heck stick a taser or gun on it and see the baddies run.

What could possibly go wrong...

I have some work with these quadruple robots, problem is, they are still generally toys or educational platforms per se, as they lack the toughness of UGVs (small payloads too) and the mobility of UAVs (where drones can scan large areas in minutes). One of the ones I played with was unitree, in addition to that, they had 3 jetson nanos, and only after few minutes they get crazy hot that you had to turn it off to cool down.

Surprised to see negative comments here. I don't think Xiaomi is marketing this as a replacement for a real dog - rather, it's an open source robotic platform that can be used for building fun, interactive games and programs.

It seems pretty cool, but also quite pricey ($1,789)

That seems rather cheap for the amount of hardware and technology. A foldable smartphone costs the same, and the only novel thing it can do is... fold.

Like the other comments mentioned, that's shockingly cheap.

Amazon is selling their ridiculous Astro bot for $1,599, and it can't even do *gaps. (I don't think this can do stairs, but definitely handles elevation changes)

Since it comes with LiDAR, I thought it was very good value.

I'd rather have this than an iPad

Good for you.

My first thought; $1800 USD for the servos/controllers alone seems like a damn good deal.

I wonder how hackable this thing is.

Has anyone found out what the battery life is like? I'm unable to find any information about it.

At ~1800$ it looks actually quite approachable especially for research teams and such!

If I remember correctly the BostonDynamics one started at around 70 000$ (Please correct me if I'm wrong) which is a much bigger pill to swallow.

I’m more worried if a robo-dog army can be deployed with so cheap cost.

Assuming this pooch will have cellular connectivity. How does one sniff its traffic short of getting one’s hands on a StingRay? Because I would not trust this thing as far as I could throw it.

All I can think of while seeing this, is the Black Mirror episode where a group of people in a post apocalyptic world are trying to not get killed by robodogs.

Surely they can be reprogrammed to wield a gun and shoot too

Same. This is creepy AF.

What’s the point?

Perfect killing machine, just need to be programmed the right way

Doubt it, drones will be the perfect tool for such jobs in the near future.

It's a toy.

Explain to me the value of having one of these vs. someone's free ability to have friends on discord. I really don't see the point.

I grew up with dogs, even became a dog trainer. They teach you more about yourself than one would like to admit. They keep you humble, they keep you in the now.

This, though, looks like some Orwellian spy master tool.

Toys don’t need to have any obvious value.

The best part about having a dog is that you need to go out of the house and walk it three times a day or you're a bad person. That one single aspect improves your life a lot.

The walking is great for you. Getting out of the house everyday wasn't a given for me since I work remotely. And doing this chore every day just makes you like the little guy more.

I'm not sure plugging the dog's batteries in will have the same effect.

Our boy requires an hour run/walk/run/zoomie/get treats from other humans at the beach every morning. Gaurenteed every day it's a "oh man not sure I feel like it". Get back from the beach "right, cracking morning, top of the world, lets on with some code".

Took 9 years for my other half to convince me to get a dog, now I'm a fully committed dog person.

I haven't slept 8 hours more than 3 or 4 times since I have dogs. I need more than the 6 or 7 I get of sleep because of them, my mental and physical health suffers for this.

We can't go on vacation, or even have a night out somewhere else, without planning and paying for them to be hosted somewhere.

I love my dogs, but I'm looking forward with both dread and hope for the days they will no longer be around.

A dog that could be turned off would be much better in this regard.

Agreed. I have a shiba dog, and he is super cute!

However, I have to take him out for walk more than an hour EverySingleDay. So, I have to spend more than 400 hours a year, i.e. 4000 hours for ten years. To be honest, spending 4000 hours is enough for making you a semi-professional in any fields. So, I don't recommend having a dog, unless you are literally CRAZY about dogs.

This must be a breed thing? Our rescue mutt can be left in (we block the couch or the little terror sleeps on it), or left out outside (where he pretends to shiver).

He can stay inside for 12 hours at a time without issues. He would be fine at a kennel.

I doubt that I could love a robot dog as much as a real live one. You can't replace a child or a spouse with a robot either.

This is not a dog replacement. It's a robot that looks like a dog.

For the unimaginative, can see at least 3 potential use cases:

* Pal to solo stay-at-home dog for when owners are away at work

* Companion to elderly or infirm who wish to have a pet but cannot physically take care of one

* Having immense fun at the dog park having it play with the real dogs

> Xiaomi CyberDog 2 offers lifelike appearance

Huhh... either I haven't seen a real dog in my life, or they haven't.

The design is very human[0]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnC3S-eIMlM

Battery life is 90 minutes. A dog that dies every 90 minutes, whats the point ? Seems like it can be a cool device for DIY modders.

Dogs sleep at least 16hrs a day. My old girl sleeps 18hrs a day.

was this written by a LLM?

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