Yuanshan Zhixing Unveils Xiaoyuan, China's First Wheel-Legged Guide Dog Robot
Yuanshan Zhixing, a tech brand under China Ordnance Industries Group's Hangzhou Zhiyuan Research Institute, released "Xiaoyuan," China's first wheel-legged guide dog robot for visually impaired users. The robot supports fully autonomous indoor and outdoor navigation, achieving obstacle avoidance success rates of at least 99% indoors and 96% outdoors. This development showcases a practical high-impact application of wheel-legged robotics and embodied AI within assistive technology. By partnering with local authorities to test in urban business districts and transit hubs, the project accelerates the real-world deployment of service robots for accessibility. Xiaoyuan features a hybrid wheel-leg structure that seamlessly switches between flat-surface gliding and stair climbing while operating with low noise to prevent interference with the user's auditory awareness. It can identify complex overhanging hazards like low tree branches and scaffolding, maintaining an outdoor positioning accuracy within 30 centimeters.
## BACKGROUND
Wheel-legged robots integrate the high efficiency and speed of wheels on smooth ground with the superior terrain-traversing capabilities of legged systems on stairs and obstacles. Embodied AI refers to artificial intelligence integrated into physical hardware that interacts directly with physical environments, moving beyond software-only models.