You don't have to worry about giving them water and baby food. You don't have to take them for a walk outside. They do not create problems with the neighbors, simply because they do not bark. They do not cause you allergies. And they also save you the costs of the vet. They are the pets of the future: robot dogs. But are we sure we really want to replace a real puppy with a creature of screw and bolt?
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
You don't have to worry about giving them water and baby food. You don't have to take them for a walk outside. They do not create problems with the neighbors, simply because they do not bark. They do not cause you allergies. And they also save you the costs of the vet. I'm pets of the future: robot dogs. But are we sure we really want to replace a real puppy with a creature of screw and bolt?
This is precisely the perspective offered by researcher Jean-Loup Rault of the University of Melbourne. The prospect of being surrounded by 'robopets' and virtual pets is not as far-fetched as one might think. He writes it in black and white on thelatest edition of Frontiers in Veterinary Science, stating that in the near future, having pets at home will become a real luxury in an overpopulated world. For this we will replace them with chips and circuits that mimic them.
"It may seem surreal for us to have robotic or virtual pets, but it could be completely normal for the next generation," he said Dr. Rault. “It is not a question of centuries. If 10 billion humans live on the planet in 2050, as predicted, it is likely to occur sooner than we think. If I had described Facebook to someone 20 years ago, they would have called me crazy. We are already seeing the formation of strong emotional bonds with the robot dogs in Japan ".
Animal robotics has come a long way since the Tamagotchi conquered half the world for the mid 90's. Today on Google there are many patents of robot dogs and everyone is convinced that the market can take off in the next 10-15 years.
In Japan today, people are so attached to their robot dogs that they hold funerals for them when they stop working altogether. This, however, shows that the birth of robot pets it is a double-edged sword, involving great ethical questions.
“Robots can, without a doubt, trigger human emotions,” adds Dr. Rault. "If artificial pets can produce the same benefits we get from real animals, does that mean that our emotional bond with animals is really just an image we project towards our pets?"
For example, if we get used to a robot companion who doesn't need food, water or exercise, will it change the way we deal with living things? We are really ready to give up the company, love, collaboration that our "real" dogs give us?
Roberta Ragni
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