It is designed to be able to move around under its own power and then to sit down when finished so the cleaning module can be removed, either to be recharged, maintained or switched out for another module, such as replacing a lawn mowing module with one for mopping.

“With a housekeeping module attached, the robot may be able to clean under and between more obstacles, increasing the coverage,” Dyson writes in its patent.

“The robot does not need to navigate into tight gaps. The user is able to easily insert or remove a module without having to reach underneath the robot.

“The robot can be in a stable, unpowered state during user module exchange, which may decrease the risk of injury.”

It says the machine is designed to have four legs, each with a knee-like joint, and pads on its feet, but these could also be replaced with wheels if needed.

While the robot visually resembles the Boston Dynamics four-legged machines, there are differences, such as the back legs facing backwards on the Dyson dog. There was no mention of how the machine would navigate its environment.

Dyson, famed for its vacuum cleaners and its innovative fans and hair tools, is the second most prolific filer of patents in Britain. There is no guarantee the invention will ever become a product, if it will ever be brought to market, or how much it would cost.

David Shrier, professor of practice, AI and innovation at Imperial College London, said we would see more automated helpers in our everyday lives as robots improved and integrated AI.

“People are probably familiar with the Roomba and similar robotic cleaning systems; they have been tremendous labour-saving devices, which expand on the capability of the humble vacuum cleaner,” he said.

“Envisioned versions of the future in sci-fi like William Gibson’s gardening ‘crabs’ and Minority Report’s intelligence spiders are now turning into engineering reality, and I’m delighted to see my colleagues at Dyson pursuing practical, helpful applications of this technology.”

Professor Adrian Hopgood, an independent consultant in AI and emeritus professor of intelligent systems at Portsmouth University, said the robodog patent brought together existing technologies into one invention to maximise benefit, much like Apple did with the first iPhone in 2007.

“The patent brings together existing technologies like those behind the Boston Dynamics dog, robotic vacuum cleaners and visual recognition systems,” he said.

“Some of the most impactful inventions comprise existing inventions repackaged. The most famous example is probably the smartphone, and the iPhone specifically, and in that respect Dyson is following a similar path.”

The Telegraph, London

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