If You Thought The Last Boston Dynamics Robot Video was Creepy…
Watching a dog sized robot walk up with an arm in place of a head, and open a door with no problem seems to have freaked a lot of people out. If that bothered you, Boston Dynamics’ new video of SpotMini triumphing over it’s puny human adversary will definitely worry you.
In all honesty, this is awesome. Watching the behaviors of this robot and how natural they seem is truly impressive. While many people see the potential bad in a lot of robotics, this technology is being developed to save lives. Sending one of these MiniSpots into an emergency situation to search and/or rescue human beings without risking another human life is an amazing step forward.ƒ
From the Youtube description:
A test of SpotMini’s ability to adjust to disturbances as it opens and walks through a door. A person (not shown) drives the robot up to the door, points the hand at the door handle, then gives the ‘GO’ command, both at the beginning of the video and again at 42 seconds. The robot proceeds autonomously from these points on. A camera in the hand finds the door handle, cameras on the body determine if the door is open or closed and help navigate through the doorway. Controllers provide locomotion, balance and adjust behavior when progress gets off track. The ability to tolerate and respond to disturbances like these improves successful operation of the robot. (Note: This testing does not irritate or harm the robot.)
