A pack of robot dogs were seen patrolling a university in northern Thailand.

The four mechanical canines were from Chiang Mai University's Engineering faculty, which took the quadruped machines for a walk on campus grounds on June 8 afternoon.

Footage shows the robotic pooches scampering on the lawn and even rolling over to expose their bellies like real dogs.

Onlooker Songklot Mayang said: 'We took them out for a walk. This is what dogs in our faculty look like.'

The robot dogs can be operated manually, using a controller, or can be programmed to follow predetermined paths autonomously.

They were produced in neighbouring China, where manufacturers are competing with U.S. firms for a share of the robot dog market.

Boston Dynamics has been developing its 70-pound Spot robot for around 10 years while Ghost Robotics in Philadelphia is building robot dogs geared toward military applications.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has even created 'Mini cheetah', which is the first four-legged robot to do a backflip.