It’s a $15,000 piece of equipment with potential applications in military and mining fieldsamong others.
But when Stampy the robot dog ventured into Brisbane’s nightclub district Fortitude Valley, it didn’t stand a chance.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: The moment Stampy the robot dog gets kicked in Brisbane.
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“It’s not really designed to take a full punt to the face,” Stampy’s owner Mark Trueno told 7NEWS.com.au.
Trueno acquired Stampy for research and development as part of his role in motorsport.
He has been walking it in public to teach it “where it can walk and what to do if it encounters something it doesn’t expect”.
On Saturday night, he left his Fortitude Valley home with Stampy and was 50m from where he powered it up when he came across a young couple.
“The guy knelt down and was excited to intercept it as it went past,” Trueno said.
“She veered directly in front of it and … took a big punt at it.
“I never actually expected anyone to kick it, considering it wasn’t in anybody’s way.”
Trueno said the man questioned the woman’s actions and apologised for her, while the woman “turned around and started to laugh”.
After the incident, he noticed one of its lights was faltering.
“The next day when I powered it up, none of the front sensors work anymore,” he said.
He estimates the damage to be around $2500.
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