A San Francisco startup called Dimensional is paying people ₹1,900 per hour to walk robot dogs. The firm posted this job on October 5 to collect navigation data. Founder Stash Pomichter said, "What we determined from our dog-walking experiment was that agents are still very bad at controlling hardware."

A San Francisco startup is offering $20 an hour to people willing to walk robot dogs through city streets. The job is part of Dimensional's effort to collect real-world navigation data and improve how AI agents control robots without human intervention.

San Francisco-based robotics startup Dimensional advertised a $20-an-hour job for people to walk four-legged robots through city streets. The experiment aims to collect real-world data to improve how AI agents control robots.

As artificial intelligence (AI) raises concerns about automation and job cuts, a San Francisco startup is offering an unusual paid opportunity: walking robot dogs for $20 an hour, or approximately ₹1,900.

According to a report by The New York Times, robotics startup Dimensional advertised for people to operate four-legged robots on outdoor routes lasting four to six hours. The job required no previous robotics experience and included paid training.

The advertisement was posted in the Facebook group 'Bay Area Jobs' on October 5 and has since been deleted.

However, the job came with an unusual requirement. Applicants had to be comfortable "safely handling equipment weighing about 33 pounds."

The robots could suddenly stop functioning or overheat during a walk. In such cases, operators would have to carry them back to the startup's office in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighbourhood.

Its founder, 26-year-old Stash Pomichter, told The New York Times that human operators were helping the company collect real-world navigation data through cameras and sensors fitted to the robots.

The startup compared the machines' performance under human control with their performance when operated by AI agents.

"What we determined from our dog-walking experiment was that agents are still very bad at controlling hardware," Mr. Pomichter said. "And humans are still needed in the loop."

What are Dimensional's plans for its robots?

Dimensional has purchased more than 100 robot dogs and 50 humanoid robots from manufacturers in the United States, China and Germany, Pomichter told The New York Times.

The robots used during the San Francisco walks were manufactured by Chinese company Unitree and cost approximately $2,000 each.

The startup hopes its technology will eventually enable robots to perform physical tasks in factories, data centres, construction sites and security operations.

"It's honestly barbaric that humans are still doing these physical tasks," Pomichter told The New York Times, referring to activities such as carrying heavy boxes.

The report also cited an example of a robot dog patrolling an apartment complex in Atlanta, with a human operator based in the Philippines monitoring it remotely.

For now, Dimensional's experiment highlights the limitations of autonomous robotics. Despite advances in AI, human assistance remains necessary to help robots navigate complex real-world environments and perform physical tasks reliably.