This project uses Google Tango quadrotor to fly independently

The stunning performance of the dogs it's fast and efficient , and able to work and cover all types of terrain , can understand all verbal commands and gestures , but the dogs are working on food. We thought carefully about , regardless of how much time and energy and money and effort and we got to the robot , it will be a very long time before we get to anything anywhere near through the capabilities of the dog. From the perspective of robots .

Dogs have some limitations : You can not move the debris , and they are not big in aviation , and either . Robots can do these things , but in a disaster scenario , the key is to get all these different pieces ( robots , dogs , and humans , and anything else ) to work together in a coherent manner .

System Emergency Response Smart ( SERS ) is trying to make this work , using a combination of "land and autonomous vehicles air , drones , humanoids, telerobots working rights, and search dogs and rescue trainers equipped with sensors in real time " to save the largest many lives as possible in emergency situations.

The project includes a number of organizations , including the University of North Carolina , MathWorks , Washington University , the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , BluHaptics, National Instruments , the University of North Texas , Boeing , and Worcester Polytechnic Institute .

This may be one of the most charmingly terrible graphics I've ever seen, but I like how it shows an ATLAS with what I think might be a dog next to it, and we all know how well dogs and robots get along.

Anyway, the SERS system combines whatever kinds of communications are available (Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc.) to connect autonomous and semi-autonomous robots with a centralized command center.

The dogs are intended to be an integral part of this system, and they're being outfitted with modular "cybernetic suits" that can be rigged up with a variety of sensors depending on the situation.

The suits also monitor the dogs themselves, sending back their heart rates so that their handlers can make sure that they're doing okay. It works in the other direction, too, with speakers on the vests relaying vocal commands, and embedded tactile systems providing gentle nudges to steer the dogs remotely.

The idea of having dogs work closely with robots is an interesting one: dogs have successfully carried and deployed snake robots by themselves, and we're curious to see how far this level of interaction can be extended.