It seems the future has already arrived 28 October 2026. Though not at all in the form the science fiction writers imagined!
In the US, in San Francisco, they're offering $20 an hour to walk dogs. But the dogs are robots, and if they get tired, you'll have to carry them home! 😂🐕🦺
While humanity dreams of robots that will walk our dogs, clean our apartments, bring groceries and do all the hard work, a truly remarkable job opening has appeared in San Francisco.
They're looking for people to walk robotic dogs!
And this is no joke.
An American tech startup Dimensional has offered to pay 20 dollars an hour to people willing to walk four-legged robots through city streets every day.
The walk lasts from four to six hours.
No special education in robotics is required.
It's enough to know how to use a smartphone, follow instructions and navigate the city confidently.
And most importantly — to have a strong back!
Because that's where the fun begins.
If the robotic dog breaks down, overheats or suddenly stops moving, the employee is obliged to pick it up and carry it back to the office themselves.
And this mechanical marvel weighs about 15 kilograms!
That is, a company that develops robots to free people from heavy physical labor is, for now, hiring people to carry robots in their arms.
A wonderful illustration of technological progress! 😂
Why walk robots at all?
It turns out that this whole venture has a quite serious scientific and technical purpose.
Dimensional is developing an open-source software system that will allow artificial intelligence to control robots in the real world.
The company wants to teach mechanical assistants to perform various kinds of physical work: transport cargo, move around construction sites, work at enterprises and patrol territories.
But an unexpected problem came to light.
AI reasons beautifully in the digital world, but controlling iron legs on an ordinary sidewalk on its own is still far more difficult for it.
The robot needs to learn to distinguish curbs, obstacles, uneven road surfaces, people and cars.
Moreover, it is not enough simply to see an obstacle. It is necessary to correctly estimate the distance, choose a movement and not lose balance.
That is why for now people control the robots, while cameras and sensors collect information about the surrounding world.
This data is then used to improve the control systems.
The company's founder, Stash Pomichter, acknowledged that the experiments revealed serious limitations of current AI agents in controlling physical devices.
Simply put, a neural network can draw up a brilliant plan for a walk, but it is not always capable of completing it on its own yet!
How much does such a pet cost?
The company purchased the robotic dogs from a Chinese manufacturer Unitree.
The cost of one four-legged apparatus is about 2000 dollars.
According to media reports, Dimensional has acquired more than a hundred such robots, as well as dozens of humanoid machines.
The mechanical pets can be controlled using a special remote control or a mobile app.
And unlike ordinary dogs, they do not require food, do not chase squirrels and do not leave unpleasant surprises on the sidewalks.
But on the other hand, they can overheat and refuse to go any further.
And then, instead of the usual:
"Come on, let's go home, good boy!"
the employee will have to say:
"So, out of battery again? All right, climb into my arms!" 🤣
It is especially amusing that the company's office is located in a San Francisco district called Dogpatch.
The name can be roughly translated as "Dog Plot."
It seems there simply could not be a better address for a company that pays people to walk metal dogs!
And how do passersby react?
The appearance of robotic quadrupeds on city streets provokes a wide variety of reactions.
Some passersby watch the unusual devices with interest.
Others are reminded of science fiction films in which machines gradually begin to rule humanity.
But for now, it is somewhat premature to fear a robot uprising.
Especially considering that an ordinary long walk can put the formidable mechanical dog out of action.
And then, instead of taking over the world, it needs the help of a human who will carry it home.
Incidentally, the job posting appeared back in early October, and by the time the story received wide media coverage, the company had already closed recruitment.
And yet the idea itself is wonderful.
After all, for decades people dreamed of creating robots that would free us from hard labor.
And now robots have finally appeared.
And now we get paid 20 dollars an hour to walk them, make sure they don't get lost, and carry them in our arms when they run out of energy!
All that's left is to wait for the next stage of technological development.
When robotic dogs learn to walk themselves, come home on their own, and recharge.
And even better — when they start walking real dogs.
True, there is a suspicion that at some point an ordinary Labrador will simply drag its mechanical colleague off into the nearest bushes.
And then they'll have to hire a third one — a human who will search for two dogs at once! 😂
