A ROBOT 'dog' is being put through its paces in the Forest carrying out underground surveys.
Specialists from the Robotics Institute and Department of Computer Science at University College London have been developing the 20kg device and wanted to trial it in real life conditions.
‘Anymal’ – as the robotic canine is known – is the first of its kind and is designed to survey ‘hard to reach’ areas underground through artificial intelligence and remote control.
The university has been working with Forestry England on the trial which took place at Wallsend Colliery, five miles west of Coleford.
After walking down a steep flight of steps into the mine, Anymal began its half-mile walk towards Yorkley alongside those familiar with the mine.
Deputy Gaveller for the Forest of Dean, Daniel Howell said: “The robot has been specifically designed to measure and survey its surrounding environment using three state-of-the-art LiDAR (light detection and ranging) cameras and point-cloud laser scanners, all recorded on some of the latest computing hardware.
“After a rocky start, the team were able to pilot the robot down a flight of steps into the mine and later send it up the main heading.
“The whole purpose of the exercise was to see how the robot behaved in an extreme environment whilst collecting data.
“All-in-all the exercise was a complete success with Anymal leaving the mine under its own steam whilst navigating some extreme terrain.
“There are many potential future applications for the robot, from surveys of awkward or hazardous areas to search and rescue scenarios.”
UCL robotics and AI professor Dimitrios Kanoulas said: “Mines in the Forest of Dean are such a difficult and challenging environment to inspect.
Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?