Testing the field capabilities of Unitree Go-1 | by Nikolaus Correll | Jul, 2024

Promotional videos are great, but what's the point of bringing a robotic dog into the field?

I am spending the summer with my son Arthur in Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) thanks to a scholarship from the Rady School of Computer Science and Engineeringa partner of the University of ColoradoAlong with us we brought a shop.unitree.com/products/unitreeyushutechnologydog-artificial-intelligence-companion-bionic-companion-intelligent-robot-go1-quadruped-robot-dog?_gl=1*6jvrzo*_up*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjwkJm0BhBxEiwAwT1AXCLtkvwwRL5Pek6hnJRp_vv3RmIyidPbY_DSSewnUt6CH7tQaEgR0hoCFS0QAvD_BwE” rel=”noopener ugc nofollow” target=”_blank”>Unitree Go-1 from the Collaborative laboratory for artificial intelligence and robotics at CU Boulder. RMBL scientists are not only biologists, but many have become drone operators, sensor engineers, and data scientists. Our goal is to find out what a robotic dog can add to its toolkit, what it can actually accomplish in the field, and what fundamental robotics research is needed to make it possible.

These are our key findings from a first implementation:

1. The Unitree Go-1 is capable of navigating surprisingly rugged terrain.
2. The robot does fault. Its legs can get tangled in the stems of grasses and bushes and the robot can easily slip even on flat ground (!).
3. If the robot fails, it often cannot recover on its own, but must be untangled and restarted manually.
4. The robot itself is not at all rugged and is susceptible to dust and morning dew, requiring additional engineering…