2 A robot dog designed to assist the blind and visually impaired and provide guided tours of museums has been hailed as a “game-changer” by its developers.
Robbie the RoboGuide has been developed by researchers at the University of Glasgow who hope to provide life-changing experiences in indoor environments such as museums and supermarkets.
Using a pre-made base which costs around £8,000 and has been used by the US military, and a large language model similar to Chat GPT, Robbie has been given “unique” powers of communication and can conduct an online search before “speaking” through speakers.
The autonomous robot uses simultaneous localisation and mapping, and has been fitted with a camera and integrated microphones, and in a public space the user would wear an earpiece to communicate with it. Robot guide dog vs Doggo guide dog. Who will win in a race? Well… #IDS2025 #GuideDog @UofGEngineering #AccessibleTechnology @WasimJawa pic.twitter.com/U5VssfzSso — RNIB Connect Radio (@RNIBRadio) March 17, 2025 Robbie has previously been trialled in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, and was able to educate those it guided about the artefacts.
It has been tipped as an interim solution for people waiting for a guide dog, which can be a prolonged and costly process, and investors are being sought.
Hopes are high that Robbie could be used to guide users, including visually impaired people who do not qualify for a guide dog, around airports, supermarkets and galleries in three to five years.
Work began in August 2023 in collaboration with RNIB Scotland and the Forth Valley Sensory Centre.
Robbie was exhibited at RNIB Scotland’s Inclusive Design for Sustainability Conference in Glasgow this week, with attendees able to try it. It’s not for us to replace the guide dog – it’s a very different relationship between the guide dog and the blind person. This is providing a complementary support for a lot of people PhD student Abdul Ghani Zahid said: “Users can talk to the robot, it could see an artefact in a museum and give a description of what that artefact was. It has audio communication and can debate.
“If it’s a new environment where someone needs assistance, […]
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