Why does the robot need to be a dog?

I don’t get this idea of robot dogs for blind people. If AI is brains, why a dog?

An animal doesn’t just help with mobility, it also brings intelligence and companionship. The robot is providing none of that. So, why does it still need to look and act like one?

Wouldn’t the mechanical complexities and battery constraints outweigh any benefits (obstacles and terrain assessment) it might offer? A smaller device with a Lidar sensor and natural voice can do most of the jobs without as many hassles and moving parts.

It is an old research problem, and, unfortunately, there are no perfect solutions yet. But I’m pretty convinced that a mechanical canine isn’t the breakthrough blind people have been waiting for.

They’re an incredible piece of engineering, no doubt about it. We’ll probably see them in factories soon, and for sure in the battlefields of the future. But guide dogs?

That just doesn’t seem like a great use case. Does it?