Ubuntu is the brains behind Xiaomi’s Half Life-esque CyberDog

Open Source is critical for CyberDog, says Xiaomi

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Canonical, the company that sponsors the development ofUbuntu, has revealed that the popularLinux distrohelps powerXiaomi’s recently releasedCyberDog.

While unveiling theMi Pad 5,Mi Mix 4, and some newsmart homeproducts earlier this year in August, Xiaomi launched a robotic version of man’s best friend. Dubbed CyberDog, Xiaomi’s mechanical canine looks a lot like Boston Dynamics' famousrobotic dog, Spot.

Unlike Spot however, the CyberDog has anopen sourcecore, Ubuntu 18.04 to be exact.

“Open Source is core for CyberDog, it ensures compatibility and growth. It enables developers to have the freedom to push boundaries, and that is what CyberDog was meant to do,”remarkedHuang Changjiang, project manager at Xiaomi.

Open source robotics

Canonical has used CyberDog as an example to illustrate how the open source community helps facilitate the field of robotics, thanks to a rich set of tools and libraries such as the RobotOperating System(ROS).

“ROS deployment on Ubuntu becomes easier and makes secondary development more friendly. We aim to unlock this rich ecosystem of applications and algorithms for CyberDog,“ says Huang.

Canonical shares that Xiaomi has released 1,000 CyberDog units and the company will also set up the “Xiaomi Open Source Community” to constantly share progress and results with developers around the world.

Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!

Priced at $1,540, Canonical fathoms that CyberDog’s affordability and open source nature will help encourage engineers and robotic enthusiasts to accelerate the research for new use-cases.

“We’re already seeing four legged robots exploring mines or helping first responders in natural disasters. These devices have also found uses in the construction industry or helping with industrial inspections, where terrain maneuverability poses a challenge. More and more applications are being discovered every day, thanks to this collaborative work,” opines Canonical.

Interested in learning Linux? Take thebest Linux distrosfor a spin on one of thesebest Linux laptops

With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.

7 myths about email security everyone should stop believing

Best Usenet client of 2024

Your doctor may have an AI assistant taking notes during your next Zoom call