Entire Boston Dynamics robot line-up dances in the new year:
Boston Dynamics is sending off 2020 with its most impressive robot video to date – showing off its entire range dancing to the classic song "Do You Love Me?"[1]. The fun video offers the first glimpse at two Atlas robots working together while also highlighting just how quickly this technology is developing.
Back in 2018 Boston Dynamics released a cute video of its dog-like Spot robot dancing to "Uptown Funk"[2]. The playful video was a fun little demonstration of Spot's broad range of movements, exciting at the time but very simplistic looking back from the vantage of today. Now the company has stepped things up delivering a long choreographed dance video featuring not only Spot, but two Atlas robots and a special appearance from Handle, a wheeled model.
Released as a kind of New Year's gift from the company, the video is the first look at two Atlas humanoid robots working together. Atlas, still technically a prototype robot, has demonstrated a stunningly rapid evolution over the past decade from barely being able to walk in 2013[3, to being allowed to roam tetherless in 2015[4], completing a spectacular parkour routine[5] just three years later, and finally getting acrobatic last year[6].
[1] Do You Love Me?
[2] UpTown Spot
[3] With you, Spot can
[4] ATLAS Gets an Upgrade
[5] Boston Dynamics' Atlas Robot Can Do Parkour
[6] More Parkour Atlas
Also at c|net.
On the one hand, it is amazing to see the technological progress and what this portends for future capabilies. On the other hand, imagine a dystopian future where a dozen of these self-contained robots are on patrol and decide you are a target-of-interest.
What would you do? What could you do?
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In sci-fi films, the rise of humanlike artificial intelligence often comes hand in hand with a physical platform, such as an android or robot. While the most advanced AI language models so far seem mostly like disembodied voices echoing from an anonymous data center, they might not remain that way for long. Some companies like Google, Figure, Microsoft, Tesla, Boston Dynamics, and others are working toward giving AI models a body. This is called "embodiment," and AI chipmaker Nvidia wants to accelerate the process.
[...] To that end, Nvidia announced Project GR00T, a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robots. As a type of AI model itself, Nvidia hopes GR00T (which stands for "Generalist Robot 00 Technology" but sounds a lot like a famous Marvel character) will serve as an AI mind for robots, enabling them to learn skills and solve various tasks on the fly. In a tweet, Nvidia researcher Linxi "Jim" Fan called the project "our moonshot to solve embodied AGI in the physical world."
[...] According to Fan, Project GR00T is a cornerstone of his newly founded GEAR Lab (short for "Generalist Embodied Agent Research"). During his time at Nvidia, Fan has specialized in using simulations of physical worlds to train AI models, and now that approach is extending to robotics. "At GEAR, we are building generally capable agents that learn to act skillfully in many worlds, virtual and real," wrote Fan in a tweet. "Join us on the journey to land on the moon."
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday December 31 2020, @11:59PM
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=20/12/11/1351202 [soylentnews.org]
The hot potato robot R&D lab.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @12:12AM (1 child)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror) [wikipedia.org]
Actually inspired by Boston Dynamics...
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 01 2021, @03:43AM
And a really shitty modern version of War of the Worlds series [soylentnews.org]
But it does show how to kill spot … over and over and over. Shoot it. Run it over with a truck. Blow it up. The usual ways.
'a really stupid movie that after the 2nd episode it wasn't worth watching. Two thumbs down.
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @12:40AM
If years of Broadway musicals and Michael Jackson videos have taught me anything, it's that a dance-off is always an option. So carry tap shoes with you and you'll be well prepared to show those robots who has the moves on the dance floor!
(Score: 4, Informative) by Frosty Piss on Friday January 01 2021, @01:27AM (14 children)
So cute... Yet in all likelihood these robots will almost certainly find their first real as emotionless killing machines.
(Score: 4, Funny) by takyon on Friday January 01 2021, @01:34AM (9 children)
Just pee on them until they short circuit.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 01 2021, @03:29AM
I'm thinking their gyro/incline sensors are probably a weak spot, MEMS vibrational devices if you hit 'em with the right frequency of vibration you probably screw their balance up pretty good.
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by martyb on Friday January 01 2021, @03:41AM (4 children)
Sounds good! (I thought of that, too.) So did Boston Dynamics. Take a look at about 1m12s into this YouTube video [youtube.com]. It claims that Spot is IP54 water and dust resistant while showing it walking in the rain.
But, if there's a pond or lake nearby, I doubt they will be good at swimming.
I wonder how well they'd handle a good jolt from a Van de Graff static generator [wikipedia.org].
Or a directed beam from a MASER.
Or just let loose with an electromagnetic pulse [wikipedia.org].
Going back to their Atlas robot, one could try to jam up the gears with copious handfuls of sand and gravel.
Wit is intellect, dancing. I'm too old to act my age. Life is too important to take myself seriously.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 01 2021, @04:32AM
Come, spot! Come spot. (Nothing happens) note - cutting of all 4 legs makes spot deaf.
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday January 01 2021, @04:43AM (2 children)
Humans in robot suits vs. robots. [fandom.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by bart9h on Monday January 04 2021, @11:16PM (1 child)
Now that is what a good RTS should be.
Comparing Total Annihilation to Starcraft is like comparing chess to checkers.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday January 04 2021, @11:36PM
I don't remember playing TA online, but I did a lot of SC1. It's complex enough, and you also had User Map Settings (UMS) to keep things interesting.
TA had an incredible engine for its time, though.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @01:40PM (2 children)
Don't these all have limited power sources, either batteries or a small ICE+generator? There was at least one video I saw with normal sound recording (instead of music) and the "dog" sounded like the 2-stroke engine in a chain saw.
Just wait them out--keep them active for max energy consumption and eventually they will run out of gas/charge.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 01 2021, @02:11PM
That was an early spot. Spot has progressed from a tether supplying electricity, to free ranging with a gas motor supplying electricity, to what you see today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww [youtube.com]
Spot was already progressing nicely when they took him off the tether and our of the lab.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Friday January 01 2021, @02:42PM
That's why every increase in battery energy density is a step closer to robot/drone oppression of humans.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Friday January 01 2021, @03:52PM (1 child)
I dunno about that. The trend lately has been "why send troops when you could send a missle or drop a bomb from a plane." So why send a robot. But what has been used a lot is robots disarming bombs.
Heck, with both GOP and Dems in power, even if they have a building full of children where the bad guy is hiding, where this robot could be useful, they just blow up the building killing everyone.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 02 2021, @11:24AM
They justify this by calling it 'collateral damage'.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 01 2021, @05:38PM
For PR and humanitarian purposes, they should have a planeload of these Spot robots loaded and ready to go to the next disaster - natural or otherwise. Robots should be equipped to sense sound, as well as decaying human flesh, specialised as possible to find whimpering children (and adults) and dead people. A couple hundred lives saved in a smaller disaster, maybe thousands in a major disaster, and the world will be making tracks to Boston Dynamics sales offices.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 04 2021, @12:20AM
Their first real job will be teaching incels to dance.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @01:40AM (2 children)
Thanks bots for a little year end fun. Given the year, we can use all we can get.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @03:12AM (1 child)
yes we all love public relations excercises. what was your favorite advert of the year i can't wait to watch it
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @03:41AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adu0-erbEEk [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @02:10AM
We need to speak up against the Robot abuse in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3RIHnK0_NE&list=PLoGvLrkJ6fgNdh-ffrukZ3U_E_PzG0uTD&index=10 [youtube.com]
Though I think Tesla Ticket avoidance mode is a good idea and if they did release such a vehicle then there could be a very slight chance that I might actually consider wanting to buy a Tesla.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn1uzAJk-6o&list=PLoGvLrkJ6fgNdh-ffrukZ3U_E_PzG0uTD&index=1&t=1s [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @04:04AM (1 child)
Becoming more and more obvious, why the Eth was fired. White guys can't jump, and very rarely can dance. Especially when Ethanol_fueled.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @05:19AM
Don't be so hard on the guy, it was obviously the Joooooooooos and brown people that made the robots dance! It's not like they're killer robots or anything. I for one welcome my robot... [0(*h*vh^jui%&NO CARRIER
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @09:19AM
"who is righteous the white or the nigger?"
"the cia niggers glow in the dark, you can see them when you're driving. you just run them over, that's what you do."
- TERRY A. DAVIS - THE BEST OF, ALBUM 1, SIDE 20
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 01 2021, @06:05PM (1 child)
"VAX fires a LAW rocket at Slicerdicer, exploding it like a blood sausage."
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Friday January 01 2021, @11:20PM
Seems the military already has a handle on random executions by drone -- no need for these things for that.