---
title: "Robodog Replaces Cheerleaders in College’s Touchdown Celebration"
description: "A robodog does a push-up every time the Virginia Tech football team scores a touchdown, putting a high-tech twist on an old college tradition."
date: "2019-10-15"
modified: "2019-10-15"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robodog-virginia-tech-touchdown"
categories:
  - "Robot Dogs"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "robodog"
  - "robot dog"
  - "the digest"
  - "virginia tech"
---

# Robodog Replaces Cheerleaders in College’s Touchdown Celebration

![A robodog does a push-up every time the Virginia Tech football team scores a touchdown, putting a high-tech twist on an old college tradition.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/vt-robo.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Ghost Robotics via YouTube\</em\>*

## Step Aside

If you watch college football, you know that the cheerleaders for some universities do a push-up for every point their team scores.

But this football season, Virginia Tech has given that old college tradition a [futuristic twist](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/12/virginia-techs-terrifying-touchdown-robot-wants-do-push-ups-not-take-over-world/>) — by enlisting a robodog to do the push-ups instead of the school's cheerleaders.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1177790887159631872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

## A Dog's Life

Philadelphia based-robotics company Ghost Robotics built the robodog, which is carried into the end zone every time the Virginia Tech Hokies score during a game.

Then, a PhD student in the school's engineering program uses a remote to instruct the bot to lift itself up and down in something kinda, sorta like a push-up.

## Friendly Creature

The purpose of the robodog is to draw attention to Virginia Tech's engineering program, according to a *Washington Post* [story](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/12/virginia-techs-terrifying-touchdown-robot-wants-do-push-ups-not-take-over-world/>), and Kaveh Akbari Hamed, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the school, is encouraged by the public's response to the [robot canine](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boston-dynamics-spotmini-fight>) so far.

"When I see that people like it — it’s a friendly creature for society, and it is going to assist people, not replace anyone — it is a very nice moment," he [told the *Washington Post*](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/12/virginia-techs-terrifying-touchdown-robot-wants-do-push-ups-not-take-over-world/>). "If society likes these kind of things, let’s work harder and make it better and better."

**READ MORE:** [Virginia Tech’s terrifying touchdown robot wants to do push-ups, not take over the world](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/12/virginia-techs-terrifying-touchdown-robot-wants-do-push-ups-not-take-over-world/>) \[*The Washington Post*\]

**More on robodogs:** *[Boston Dynamics CEO Wants Its Robodogs to Fight Each Other](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boston-dynamics-spotmini-fight>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)