By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA

The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk.

The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook.

Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said.

Photo: Screen grab from Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan’s Facebook

By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei become a smarter, more sustainable city, he added.

The dog is being introduced as an auxiliary tool by the company responsible for road inspections, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) said on Facebook.

However, approval from the city government is required for the company to use the robot, she added.

Chien said she inquired with the city government about information security concerns, as Lee had said that the robot is 99 percent similar to one produced by the Chinese robotics company Unitree.

Although the robot itself was made in China, its panoramic surveillance and data transmission systems, as well as its remote-control software were all developed and integrated by a Taiwan company, so there are no information security concerns, the office said.

The robot was originally developed by Boston Dynamics, a company that only sells to academic institutions for research, not to private companies, the office said.

Since domestically developed robotic dogs are not yet commercially available for road inspections, the company chose to use an existing robot and focus its resources on inspection equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) development, it said.

The inspection equipment and AI technology were developed by a Taiwanese company, it added.