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IT WAS BIG news this past week when Google bought Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that creates mobile research robots for the US military. This is the ninth robotics company that Google has purchased in the last six months.
Boston Dynamics features nine robots on its website, and some of them are almost unbelievable. They can crawl, jump, climb, and gallop, even over tough terrain.
Meet some of the most amazing (and kind of creepy) robots that Boston Dynamics has created:
Atlas: The Humanoid Robot
Atlas is a humanoid robot that can walk through rough terrain like a human and even climb using its hands. It can lift and carry things, and it has cameras and a laser range finder on its head. When hit from the side, the robot manages to keep its balance.
Check out Atlas in action:
Cheetah: The fastest robot in the world
The Cheetah set a new record for the speediest robot. It can run faster than 29 miles per hour, completely destroying the previous record, set in 1989 at MIT, of 13.1 miles per hour. That’s faster than Jamaican sprint champion Usain Bolt.
The Cheetah is powered by an off-board hydraulic pump, meaning that it can’t operated untethered.
Watch the Cheetah sprint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chPanW0QWhA
WildCat: The free-running Cheetah
The WildCat is Boston Dynamics’ free-running iteration of the Cheetah. Although it hasn’t reached Cheetah’s insane speeds yet, the four-legged robot can run up to 16 miles per hour on all types of terrain.
The Wildcat can gallop, bound, and turn quickly.
Big Dog: The huge robot that can carry almost 400lbs
BigDog is perhaps Boston Dynamics’ most bizarre-looking bot.
About the size of a large dog or a small mule, BigDog can walk, climb and run through rubble, mud, water, and snow and carry heavy loads (up to 340 pounds).
Check out BigDog climbing in the woods, jogging, and, kind of hilariously, slipping on ice:
RiSE: The robot that can climb up walls
RiSE is six-legged robot that can climb up vertical terrains like walls, trees, and fences using its micro-claws. The robot uses its tail to help it balance and can change its posture to conform to the curvature of the climbing surface. RiSE is 0.25 meters long, weighs 2 kilograms, and travels 0.3 meters per second.
Watch RiSE climb a building and a tree:
- Jillian D’Onfro
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Skynet’s going to need those terminators from somewhere.
I would get worried if Google changes their name to Skynet or start referring to the robots as Cylons!
Seriously does nobody else find the fact that a company that almost controls the internet now looks like it’s seeking to build an army of (fast and scary looking) robots a bit terrifying!!!! Matrix and Terminator movies are looking more and more worrying. If you know someone called John Connor please look after them this Christmas.
You do know films are make believe?
Yeah Larry but reality can be a hell of a lot scarier! They have robots that can climb walls for crying out loud!
even the T-800 couldn’t climb walls
Put me down for 1x “pleasure model”
Thanks.
Do you service human needs?
Call me paranoid, but there is something scary in fact that private company, known for already huge amount of power, is buying military toys…
With all the kicking, being hit by weights & laughed will it be any wonder when machines rise up against us& try & kill us (terminator) or exploit us (the Matrix)… Machines have feelings too
Once knowledge of trade unions is not programmed into them, they should remain compliant.
The atlas looks like a fella heading home after a load of pints. And the big dog thing looks like someone cut the legs off two people and glued them to a box!
Knowing us humans it’s only a matter of time until some guy tries to shag it
I would ;)
Google have robots. Amazon have drones. Interesting times.
6 military robotics firms bought in as many months by Google…makes sense, military technology is far more advanced than consumer technology….looks like they trying to monopolize the market, all subsidized by taxpayers money of course. Free market baloney. ..
Scary the power google has.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Frightening stuff!
I think they modeled Atlas on me coming home after a session.
How long before the US military arms these things? My guess is within the next 15 year’s. When drones were first developed we were told they couldn’t and wouldn’t be armed…..see how that worked out! The ability for warships, submarines, and drones to hunt target and kill without human input already exists……the political will to allow it doesn’t at the minute….but give it time.
Wow! I better pay for those Google subscriptions on time!
But can they run Crysis?!?!
I wouldn’t get too paranoid, it’s not as if Google know where you live….
Oh wait….
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