There is something delightfully unexpected about a robotic dog being trained to help herd sheep, and it feels especially fitting that this particular bit of innovation has come out of UniSC on the Sunshine Coast.
From the university’s main flagship campus at 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4556, Australia, students and researchers have been developing robodogs that can assist with livestock handling. For Buderim readers, it is a reminder that some of the region’s most interesting ideas are being worked on just down the road.
The Unitree Go2 robodogs are set to appear in the Ekka Main Arena from 8 to 16 August. With around 30,000 people expected each day, they should attract plenty of attention.
Voice commands in the paddock
The project began with earlier UniSC research that trained robodogs to herd sheep autonomously using cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence. That alone is clever enough. But the latest stage of the work has taken a more practical turn after feedback from working-dog handlers.
Rather than rely solely on automation, the handlers wanted to stay in control.
That led to a web-based app that allows a user to issue commands from a phone or laptop. Honours student Abdullah al Muhsin helped develop the system, which listens to spoken instructions, recognises specific commands and sends them to the robodog in real time.
Commands such as “stop”, “away” and “come by” are picked up through Google Chrome’s speech-recognition technology, then sent via a WebSocket API to software running on an onboard NVIDIA Jetson computer. In turn, the robodog translates those instructions into movement.
A practical tool, not just a crowd-pleaser
It is easy to see why the robodogs will draw a crowd at the Ekka. They have novelty on their side, naturally. But the more important part of the story is the purpose behind them.
Livestock handling can be costly, labour-intensive and physically demanding. The UniSC project is aimed at assisting that work, not replacing the people who know it best. That distinction matters.
There is something reassuring about that approach. It is innovation with a practical sense of place. The technology is impressive, but it is also being shaped by the people who would actually use it.
Sunshine Coast ideas on a big stage
For the Sunshine Coast, and for Buderim in particular, there is a quiet satisfaction in seeing a local university project step onto a stage as big as the Ekka. UniSC continues to be part of the region’s everyday life, but every so often it turns up with something that makes you stop and take notice.
These robodogs might look like a playful nod to The Jetsons, but they are doing real work behind the scenes. And that, in the end, is what makes this such a good local story.
Published 6-August-2026