While Sony is having fun creating dancing robots and degrading the idea of robotics more and more, it’s rival Sanyo is creating truly interesting, yet still nearly completely useless, things. New robot from Sanyo that will go into development in 2003 is a mechanical dog that walks around on mechanical paws and can be controlled from cell phone. The name is simple yet elegant: T7S

Sanyo T7S Type 1

Sanyo T7S Type 2

    Unlike Asimo or Sony’s dancing ghetto-bot, Sanyo’s robot has four feet. This allows T7S be able to achieve speed sufficient enough to chase down any elderly person, a child, or a cripple. The first model is capable of running an incredible 35 meters in just under one minute, while the second model can only go 25 meters in the same amount of time. Second model however, can jump-bend-fall over small obstacles, while the first model requires a clear track.

    T7S’s main function is to work as a watchdog: it can hop round and round the house, waving its head from side to side, and, on the account of intruder detection, send his picture to his owner’s GPRS/G3-enabled cell phone. Cool, isn’t it? Unfortunately it looks like one simple thing has slipped Sanyo Engineers’ attention: the robotic dog will be the first thing to get stolen, especially considering that its price is more than likely to be in the 4-digit zone.

    Who will be guarding the robotic guards themselves, we’re asking the developers? Developers are not responding - just blinking and turning away their Japanese eyes.

    It would be neat to include some sort of offensive weapon in the T7S – a poisonous needle, or a flame thrower. GPS would be a given also…