Boston Dynamics – robots extraordinaire

Boston Dynamics Big Dog in Snow

Some readers may recall my article, “Sex Robots“, when I mentioned Big Dog by Boston Dynamics.

I also mentioned that the 2009 Big Dog design shown was a bit old but it must have been good enough to convince Google to buy the company in 2013.

Well, I had a look around and what did I find?

A current Boston Dynamics robot called Spot.

A few differences to look for between Big Dog and Spot:-

• less noisy
• smaller form factor
• front “legs” now look more naturally positioned
• looks a lot lighter in weight
• agility seems to be better

Boston Dynamic – Spot on maneuvers with the US Marines

Spot is currently being evaluated by the US Marines for use in a support role in the field, e.g. entering buildings first, frontline scouting, carrying supplies, etc.

This version of Spot is about 73 kgs and it can be controlled wirelessly from 500m away.

Check out the YouTube video and decide for yourself. This video was released in Feb/March 2015.

I think I want one for Christmas 🙂

Boston Dynamics  … see Spot run 🙂

Links

http://www.bostondynamics.com/

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/09/22/boston-dynamics-robotic-dog-is-going-through-basic-training-with-marine-corps/

http://www.dispatchtimes.com/meet-spot-the-robot-dog/98893/

http://www.techinsider.io/us-marines-testing-boston-dynamics-robot-called-spot-2015-9

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3244438/A-soldier-s-best-friend-Marines-Google-s-robo-dog-Spot-paces-tackling-tough-terrain-scouting-buildings.html

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/09/the-marines-are-sending-this-robotic-dog-into-simulated-combat/

http://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2015/09/marines-give-googles-latest-robot-a-tryout-as-working-dog/

http://www.mis-asia.com/tech/industries/marines-test-googles-latest-military-robot/