Collected News Articles on Animals and Robots

Akita Prefectural University presented six research projects and prototypes at LiSH AKITA on October 13, 2026. Exhibits included fibre-optic wildlife sensing, bear-risk mapping, camera-based monitoring, community reporting tools, the quadruped robot Hacchan, and transformable personal mobility.

The university reports that KumaRisk improved coverage of sightings in the subsequent seven days compared with ranking areas by past sighting counts, when warning areas were limited to 30% of the prefecture. The report does not quantify that improvement.

Several projects are moving towards field trials. The exhibition report does not establish that these technologies have reduced bear attacks or demonstrate the robot’s effectiveness against wild bears.

Dogs and four-legged robots met on the agility course at Robolity 2025, held on 25 June at ELTE’s Bogdánfy Road sports ground in Budapest. Organised by the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University, the event brought animal behaviour and robotics together in a public competition.

A five-minute video from the Family Dog Project Research Group revisits the event through interviews with participants and organisers. Ramps, tunnels, slalom sections and jumps challenged the competitors’ movement, balance and coordination. The interviews also mention another difficulty: the heat, which affected both dogs and robots.

The robotic competitors included Unitree Go2 quadrupeds. A Boston Dynamics Spot also appeared in an opening demonstration. Participants reflected on speed and accuracy, with dogs continuing to set a demanding standard for their mechanical counterparts.

The video also explores how robotic performance is developing. One participant describes a change in the robot’s control mode and movement strategy, including improved handling of obstacles such as the seesaw. Others explain how the demands of agility can give developers concrete goals for improving their robots.

By bringing robots into a challenge inspired by dog agility, Robolity creates opportunities to explore the capabilities and limitations of both technological systems and the ways we design activities around animals.

A Sony press release describes an observational experiment supervised by mammalogist Tadaaki Imaizumi, involving 13 dogs and 12 owners in 10 groups. Initial encounters were observed, and three households were selected for two weeks of living with aibo.

According to the company report, nine dogs initially approached and sniffed aibo, while four remained wary. During the home observations, some dogs played with, licked or nudged it.

The Sony-commissioned interpretation does not establish what dogs believe about aibo. The release reports no control group or statistical testing; these observations should not be read as a general conclusion about dog–robot relationships.