Vodafone Samoa will add a technological twist to this year’s Independence Day celebrations, with a robot dog set to lead the company’s march on Monday.

The robot dog, worth between USD $1,600 (SAT $4,200) and USD$3,00 (SAT $8,000), formally known as the Unitree Go2, was brought to Samoa for the celebrations and will march in front of the Vodafone Samoa team. 

Vodafone Samoa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Toleafoa Rana Bose told the Samoa Observer on Friday that the idea came to him a year ago while attending the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) conference in the Solomon Islands.

“I saw their booth there, where they had the robo-dog displayed, and then I thought, why not bring it here for Independence Day?” he said.

“We’ll be taking the robo-dog in front of us to lead the way.” The second-generation robot dog is based in Papua New Guinea and travelled to Samoa with its operator, Darren Gan Kin Wai.  

It is controlled via the Unitree Go2 app, which can be downloaded on a mobile device, where only one user can control it at a time. 

The tailless robot dog can jump, flip, turn, shake hands and make heart gestures with its robotic paws. It is also equipped with 3D LiDAR mapping technology, where the robot can create a point cloud map of an area and follow a specified path autonomously.

Toleafoa said bringing the robot dog to Samoa was an opportunity to expose young Samoans, "to understand what is happening around the world (and) where the future lies."

“Because we are a technology company, we try to bring in new technology so that the younger generation takes an interest in technology and studies in the technology field,” he said. Toleafoa said that when the younger generation in Samoa witnesses new technology, it "motivates them" to study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

The robot dog’s lithium batteries were hand-carried on the trip to Samoa. Toleafoa said the batteries were within permissible limits for entry into the country. Transporting lithium batteries into Samoa requires strict compliance with international air and maritime dangerous goods regulations.

Toleafoa said this may not be the last time Samoa sees advanced robotics, with plans underway to bring a “human-sized robot” or "humanoid" to the country.