The days of the humble Kiwi farm dog could soon be numbered.
A US company has created a robot that can navigate even the toughest terrain and even herd sheep.
And thanks to technology developed right here in New Zealand, it can go places no other robot can.
"These robots are far more mature than people think in terms of maneuvering around physical environments so pretty excited to help especially the agrotech sector in NZ," said David Inggs, chief executive of Kiwi robotics company Rocos.
Rocos has partnered with Boston Dynamics to develop a platform that controls the robot from anywhere in the world.
"Our technology allows people to remotely connect to it in a very secure way and actually give it missions and tell it what to do," Inggs said.
Rocos have the only two robot-dogs in New Zealand - named Hairy McLairy and Jock. They've already proven useful on farms and they could improve the horticulture sector too.
Equipped with heat sensors and high-resolution cameras, the robots can scan an area and send real-time data back to the user.
"Those sensors are looking for anomalies in the environment or capturing data like plant health," Inggs said.
