A robotic dog was able to raise $40,000 at a charity auction after it was able to sell a painting it created. The charity auction was intended to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.
Robotic Dog Raised Money for Ukraine
The painting called Sunrise March was painted in the New York studio of Polish-American artists Agnieszka Pilat. The robotic dog named Spot is a creation of Boston Dynamics and is available online for $75,000.
The auction of the painting took place on Mar. 25 at the San Francisco home of Olympic gold-medal figure skater Brian Boitano and his partner, singer Franc D'Ambrosio, according to New York Post.
The proceeds from the charity auction will go directly to the Polish Dominican Friars, who are providing aid on the front lines of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
The auction was part of a larger ticketed charity event that has raised more than $250,000.
Pilat said that he created Sunrise March together with Spot as a gift to help raise funds for the care of the Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland.
Pilat added that the painting is executed by the robot's marching feet as a lyrical metaphor for the feet of millions of refugees marching towards Poland to escape the war.
The artists explained that she feels great solidarity with the Ukrainian people, with whom Poland has a shared history of fighting totalitarian Russia, according to Mashable.
Pilat continued that he is affected by the pictures of old people marching. She added that if she was living in Poland and the Russians came, she would rather die than let the Russian regime harass them and enslave them.
The 48-year-old artist developed something of a niche for herself in the New York City and Silicon Valley art scene for her depictions of robots and other automatons.
Ukrainian Refugees Fled Their Homes
According to BBC, 10 million people have now fled their homes in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion. Around 3.6 million people have left for neighboring countries, and around 6.5 million are thought to be displaced inside the country.
Of the 2,000 internally displaced Ukrainian, around 30% had come from Kyiv, more than 36% had fled from the east of Ukraine, and 20% had come from the north of Ukraine.
Around 40% are now in the west of Ukraine. There are now less than 3% Ukrainians in Kyiv.
Only 5% had left their homes in anticipation of the Russian invasion, with the majority of the people fleeing either at the start of the war or when it reached their area.
More than half of the Ukrainians who are internally displaced are women, and many are vulnerable because they are pregnant, have a disability, or are victims of violence.
The United Nations is working together with other organizations to provide help to Ukrainians. The UN said that it is offering humanitarian assistance whenever necessary and possible.
The assistance offered by the UN includes giving cash to Ukrainians for basics like rent and food, delivering supplies like food and materials for homes damaged by the invasion, providing folding beds to those in bomb shelters, and setting up reception and transit points for internally-displaced people.
In 2021, Hyundai purchased Boston Dynamic's robot dog to conduct a survey in the company.
Related Article: Boston Dynamics vs. BTS: Robot Challenges Kpop Boy Group to a Dance-Off in Viral Video
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Written by Sophie Webster
