On a sunny morning in June, I walked to work with a quadruped robot beside me. Ive never gotten more attention from strangers. A bunch of people snapped pictures of my robot dog. Several people asked me questions. Was it mine? Yes. Did I build it? No. Was it being used for surveillance? No. Biological dogs kept a safe distance from my mechanical companion. Some growled or barked at it. Children were fascinated. I paused and had it do tricks for several of them: “shake hands,” do a handstand,...
