18 replies to this topic

[rombus]

Boston Dynamics Big Dog

Kinda freaky!

Edited by rombus, 17 March 2008 - 09:54 PM.

[Live Forever]

I am doubting it is the "most advanced", but it is pretty unusual.

[Cyberbrain]

Its ability to navigate and balance is amazing!

[rombus]

Its ability to navigate and balance is amazing!

Yep, the part when it is trying to keep balance on the ice had me shaking my head. Very biological like when regaining balance.

[Matt]

Noisy little thing!

[Cyberbrain]

Its ability to navigate and balance is amazing!

Yep, the part when it is trying to keep balance on the ice had me shaking my head. Very biological like when regaining balance.

Yeah me too. When I saw it try to re-balance after slipping I had a cold chill run down my spin, but a good chill. Finally robots are becoming more self efficient

[lucid]

... With funding from the "Defense" Advanced Research Projects Agency...
I can't wait to have one of these chasing after me with a gun strapped to it.

[Cyberbrain]

Most advanced robotic quadruped on Earth

Most advanced robotic quadruped on Earth ... so far

[forever freedom]

Wow nice little thing. I wanna see now a robot walking on two legs as agile as this one (currently i guess asimo is the most advanced but not very agile yet).

[Matt]

How long before we get to iRobot movie stage robotics? At a guess...

I have to say though, when that guy booted the thing I thought it was going to fall over, that is quite amazing to be honest

Edited by Matt, 18 March 2008 - 05:12 AM.

[Mind]

Was anyone else disturbed slightly when the guy kicked/pushed it with his foot? For me it was weird feeling slight empathy for the machine.

[rombus]

Was anyone else disturbed slightly when the guy kicked/pushed it with his foot? For me it was weird feeling slight empathy for the machine.

Uncanny valley

I had the same sort of response when first viewing it.

Edited by rombus, 18 March 2008 - 04:08 PM.

[Shannon Vyff]

I showed this to my three kids while they were eating breakfast this morning before taking them to school, we have robotics camp after school they loved it of course, but they also anthropomorphize our robot vacuum....

[Ghostrider]

Yeah, pretty amazing. In some instances, it actually looked more agile than a dog would be.

[tamalak]

The way it walks is weird but the way it recovers after stumbling is extremely animal-like. So much that I had the same reaction as Mind when the guy shoved it, "you asshole!"

Edited by tamalak, 20 March 2008 - 05:52 PM.

[nefastor]

Was anyone else disturbed slightly when the guy kicked/pushed it with his foot? For me it was weird feeling slight empathy for the machine.

LOL I couldn't find it on Youtube but Stephen Colbert did a piece about this robot on the Colbert Report (last year) showing similar footage of the quadruped being kicked and regaining its balance.

He cried "Stop this, you're hurting it !", adding with big puppy eyes : "it's so vulnerable !"

I laughed so hard my ribs hurt. It's etched in my long-term memory, now. The man is a genius.

I showed this to my three kids (...) they loved it of course, but they also anthropomorphize our robot vacuum....

ROFL

Have they taped googly eyes to your Roomba yet ? That's tons of fun for the whole family (and the first idea I had when I first saw a Roomba)

Granted, I spend to much time with robots.

Seriously, now, I think the Boston Dynamics robot is close to AMEE, the evil robot in the Red Planet movie (IMDB entry)

For starters, both robots have nearly identical legs, and not just the configuration but the very design of their casing. I suspect someone over at B.D. has seen that movie and told his colleagues "hey guys, we can build this shit"

Creepier : B.D. 's work is funded by DARPA. AMEE is a "robot on loan from the US Marine Corps". I suspect someone over at DARPA has seen that movie and told his colleagues "hey guys, we can build this shit"

Yet another proof that movies are perverting our youth ! Get Hilary Clinton off the Grand Theft Auto Hot Coffee case and set her against the Giant Robot of Doom lobby. It's all japanese guys anyway, to them she will look like Godzilla.

Nah, just kidding... sex is bad, but killer robots for the US military are good. Why trick uneducated people into joining the Corps when you can have mindless machines ? Besides, if you're going to attack the wrong country anyway, you don't even need to perfect artificial intelligence

Seriously, tho, this robot kicks serious ass. I'd love to have a look at the source code.

Anyone noticed there was no buzzing noise when it is tethered ? I'm guessing for outdoor use it is powered by a small diesel generator. The question is, when they mention weight and payload for the robot, where are the generator and fuel tank ? Are they counted as part of the payload ?

Nefastor

(Edited for spelling)

Edited by nefastor, 27 March 2008 - 03:08 AM.

[NickC11]

Wow ridiculously noisy.

"Why trick uneducated people into joining the Corps when you can have mindless machines ? Besides, if you're going to attack the wrong country anyway, you don't even need to perfect artificial intelligence" hah.

[kclo4x]

Wow, if i were kicked like that, i would be on the ground, also probably true with the ice. Do you think it has better balance then some animals?

[JediMasterLucia]

Was anyone else disturbed slightly when the guy kicked/pushed it with his foot? For me it was weird feeling slight empathy for the machine.

yes, I had the same feeling for the robot.