TEFI, the robot dog to guide blind people, developed by CESIC (video)

He CSICthe Higher Council for Scientific Research, has developed a robot guide dog for people blind called TEFIwhich can also help people with Alzheimer’s, with memory problems, or who live alone. And now he’s looking for funding on KickStarter.

Few people know that flesh and blood guide dogs are very rare, and they cost €30,000. The reason is that it takes several years to train them. Blind people have to sign up for a list with years of waiting, and only a few can access one. Even more complicated, that it can be financed by an NGO or Foundation like ONCE.

The CISC has been working on TEFIa robot guide dog that can do much more than a traditional one, for a much lower price, among 5,000 and 10,000 euros. You can see it in the opening video of the news.

TEFI, the CSIC robot dog for the blind

TEFI is a Go1 robot dog from the Chinese company Unitree, which sells for about 3,000 euros. This robot has a very basic intelligence: it can dodge obstacles, follow youand a little more.

What the CSIC has done, hand in hand with the robotics expert Gerardo Portilla, is add an artificial intelligence module designed to help blind peoplebut also to those who suffer from Alzheimer’s, or other memory problems.

TEFI he is able to understand voice commands. You can say things like “stand up”, “sit down”, or “look up”. Even more important, it understands orders like “take me to the kitchen” or “order a taxi and take me to the emergency room.”

also can call a taxi on your own, and thanks to GPS and Google Maps, guide a blind person to the hospital. You can even download the plans of the building, and take it to the office.

He is also able to guide a blind until the supermarket, your job, or a restaurant. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it can automatically learn the plans of a house, or a workplace.

It is very useful for people with memory problemsthat they can say phrases like “take me to my son’s house” or “we’re going home”, if they don’t remember how to get back.

TEFI does many other things that a conventional guide dog cannot do, such as read QR codeseither call relatives or the policeif it detects a problem, or its owner asks for help.

You can also inform about the traffic to choose one or another street, and detect objects on the waylike a ball that crosses or a child who has stopped in the middle of the step, to warn its owner, and not stumble.

TEFI, he robot guide dog of the CESIC for blind people or with memory problemsseek financing on kickstarter to continue its development. For 20 euros they send you photos and videos of the progress made, and for 500 euros you have the chance to try it in different phases of improvement.