Robot service dogs are on the way

Georgia Tech professor Charlie Kemp was never much of a dog person until his wife brought home an energetic goldendoodle named Daisy about a year and a half ago.

Since then, the robotics researcher's work has literally gone to the dogs.

Inside Kemp's Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, he and co-workers are developing a robot dog they say could someday perform the same functions as the service dogs that are vital to many physically disabled people.

At a skinny 5 feet 7 inches, with wheels instead of paws, their robodog named El-E (pronounced "Ellie") doesn't look anything like a real dog.

But El-E can open doors and cabinets, fetch dropped objects and do other service dog functions -- all without ever needing to eat or relieve itself.

Ultimately, Kemp and co-researchers plan to train El-E to do things not even highly skilled service dogs can do, such as dial a cellphone for help or relay information about its companion's condition to a doctor.

"A lot of people have looked at robot dogs for entertainment and companionship," Kemp said. "But we said, 'Hey, what about looking at this in terms of physical assistance?' "