I'd be interested in whether dogs could be trained. I know they have literally been trained to drive cars but not as far as I'm aware to such a level that you'd let them on the highway. But my impression is that they are better at focusing on the task than humans, when well trained, and maybe would out perform them, given some navigational guidance. Seems like something for a steam punk novel to have.
> I'd be interested in whether dogs could be trained
Trained? Don't think so. I mean, there are dogs riding skateboards, so I believe that, given the proper ergonomic controls, they could learn how to drive a vehicle.
Driving a vehicle safely (as in, not stopping in the middle of a highway to investigate an interesting object) would be a greater challenge.
But as far as navigating a space? Sure, they are amazing at that and far better than anything we can come up with in the near future. Heck, if you hook up an insect brain inputs and outputs, you would have a system that's better than what we currently use.
