Robot dogs are here and they’re cheap, Canada, but their software still needs a human and their security has flaws

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeCanadaTech Robot dogs are here and they're cheap, Canada, but their software still needs a human and their security has flaws They cost about $6,000 and get pitched to fire crews. The researchers who work on them call the machines a novelty. Author of the article: By Mason Kossak Published Aug 26, 2026 Last updated 1 hour ago 4 minute read Join the conversation Robotic dog known as a quadruped, being remote controlled at a conference in Saskatoon. PHOTO BY MICHELLE BERG /Saskatoon StarPhoenix Article content Chinese robot dogs on sale in Canada still cannot do much without a person driving them. Security researchers have found flaws that could let someone else take control. Article content In Beijing this week, organizers say more than 2,000 humanoid robots are competing in running, table tennis and soccer at the second World Humanoid Robot Games, inside the oval built for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Article content Article content Article content The displays show real capability, said Jason Peng, an assistant professor of computing science at Simon Fraser University. But the software running each robot is trained for one narrow task, he told National Post in an email. A machine built to dance or play table tennis can do little else. Article content The machine on sale here is the Unitree Go2, built by a Chinese company that makes both four-legged robots, which the field calls quadrupeds, and two-legged humanoids. An Alberta dealer markets them for fire and rescue crews. In Canada, they start at around $6,000. Article content Michiel van de Panne has worked with four-legged and humanoid robots for years at the University of British Columbia, where he is a professor emeritus of computer science. Humanoid robots once ran anywhere from $200,000 to a million dollars, he said, and the price of the hardware has plummeted over the past three to 10 years. Article content The hardware is no longer the hard part, van de Panne said. The software is. Article content “If someone gives you 100,000 quadrupeds or 100,000 humanoids, okay, now what are they actually good for so far,” van de Panne said. The short-term uses tend to be entertainment, he told National Post in an interview, and the machines are a novelty. Article content Article content A robot can do a backflip because the move is the same every time, Peng wrote, and software…