Boston Dynamics introduces a fully electric humanoid robot that “exceeds human performance”
Hello, Electric Atlas
...replacing the previously hydraulic version.
Insert obligatory welcome statement here.
Only got one question for ya here fellas, can it fuck?
import sex
sex.angry({'bottom': 'power', 'style': 'snoo-snoo'})
The orifice is working on that module
A robot could never excede my performance in being depressed and autistic so Im safe.
No you'll work but the robot will be your supervisor and can beat you
You don't need humanoid robots for that, just an economic system that is not based on trading labor for income. That is what has been holding us back for a long time.
Did you know there is an industry-standard mounting system for strap-on dildos? Just saying.
You were thinking exactly what I was thinking!
I never knew I needed Boston Dynamics to build a skinwalker, but they knew
"What should we include when we build our humanoid robot?"
"It should stand up in the most unnerving way possible."
Jesus Christ, it's like they made a new RoboCop out of the girl from The Ring
Were the others not fully electric!?!?! Like obviously they were but the title makes it sound like they built steampunk robots.
The old atlas had hydraulics, this one only electric actuators. Thats probably what they meant.
That makes a lot of sense, actually. I also saw "fully electric" and immediately thought of electric/hybrid/ICE cars, and my brain went straight to "hold up, did I miss the fully functional diesel-powered humanoid robot?"
Can it outrun a kenyan in a marathon?
Or the real question is if a battery can be made small enough to fit in a human sizef robot that can keep it running over 42km
It says exceed human performance, not exceed the peak humans in a given discipline.
Could Kiptum, race an F1 car as fast as Lewis Hamilton?
Could Lionel Messi play basketball like peak Kobe?
Sure the headline is hyperbole, but I don’t think we still should compare things like this.
Hyperbole is an understatement, the headline is obviously just trying to generate clicks. Idk how else we should quantify “human performance” though. Should we compare it’s strength to a sedentary office worker instead? I think the marathon comparison is actually very generous because I doubt this thing can even replicate a reasonable facsimile of a soccer performance.
"exceeds human performance" .. in crushing whatever it is gripping, right?
It's such a weird phrasing. They make it sound like you can give it nails and a hammer and it can frame a house better than a human.
I mean have you seen inspection videos on YouTube? Homebuilders are doing a half assed job these days.
Who's ready to fly on a zipline?
Okay somebody probably knows better than me, but what is the advantage of humanoid robots? Why are people kinda, on this, now? It feels very 20th century, as an idea. It's pretty cool, but I don't understand why this would be necessary compared to just like, specialized normal robots that do specialized normal tasks. It seems more efficient, if you wanted a robot to, say, do the dishes, to make a robot that just does the dishes, instead of making a robot in the shape of a person that does the dishes. The one that's in the shape of a person is maybe more broadly applicable to human contexts, software notwithstanding (which does seem like a major hiccup). But it's not as though there's like, an upper limit on the amount of robots which we can have, in total. You could just make more robots, and make them specialized for certain tasks, like stocking shelves or whatever, and that would probably be easier, I would think, than making one robot to rule them all. Like, one robot, with ostensibly an on-board computer and on-board batteries so it's as universal as possible.
It gives me self-driving car vibes, where we could've had them in the 50's if everyone was willing to install metal spikes in the ground every however many feet ahead, but then that maybe doesn't make any sense, because it's just kind of a shitty train or tram. Basically, that nobody's willing to front the cost of infrastructure for anything anymore, so we have to make like, a universal device, and end up quintupling the total cost while making a solution that is either less efficient or doesn't exist.
Also, what's the point of the legs? Is it supposed to go outside, or go up stairs better? We already have pretty efficient wheeled vehicles capable of doing that in most public spaces, or, we're supposed to, anyways, they're called wheelchairs. What do we need this guy to walk around for?
Because this makes it a drop-in replacement for a person. You need to go into a confined space with toxic gas? Your Wall-E-looking robot works great, right up until you hit a single step, god forbid a ladder. This robot could handle all of that, and turn the valve to shut off the gas or whatever.
War and policing. You're dug into a foxhole/bunker with your bolt action rifle, and a few thousand of these things come marching along. Or you're protesting the party in power, so a few hundred of these automated law enforcement officers get sprung loose to "keep the peace"
soon things like this will be everywhere in our lives, on subscription, and can turn into police or military at any time like an agent smith. sleep tight!
How do I subscribe when the robot took my job?
...in bed
No it doesn't.
Idk my limbs don't rotate 360° degrees, At least not multiple times. Unless yours do he has us beat on something.
Well for a short time maybe
Let's see it fold origami cranes better than a human hand
When they take over? They look super fun!
This video looks like a UT rendering
I mean, the planet's dying, but ok. At least we've got robots that "excced human performance" in making their overlords profits. Imagine if these scientists were putting their efforts to real use.
of all the things scientists do, making robots that can do dangerous or even tedious labor isn't that bad.
It's probably one of the biggest potential saviors tbh, having robots efficiently construct wind turbines and solar arrays in inhospitable locations will help us transition from oil far faster and more efficiently.
I know a lot of people want to go back to having half the world impoverished so we can exploit their cheap labour like in the good old days but technology already helped them access education and stuff so that game is over.
Lemmings reading you right now:
So glad they selected this super not creepy intro.
I think they specifically chose that to display that it has no "forward" axis, robots don't need to be 100% anthropomorphic and follow our biological limitations, this is a very significant evolution in design that will allow for better mobility
I'd go further to argue that it's very necessary for robots to have even more mobility such as wheels to take advantage of momentum and increase efficiency. There's a reason the wheel was invented, things like bicycles, wheelbarrows, etc.
The ANYmal wheeled legged robot is an example of that.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/anymal-swiss-mile-quadruped-wheeled-standing-robot/
This is probably the best way to get up if your joints can fully rotate. If you look closely, the legs are exactly below the center of mass when they touch the ground, making it easy to push upwards without falling over.
Humans just have to make complicated contortions or jump up because our joints are inferior (there are no slip rings for blood vessels).
I can probably do that too if I dislocate my hip bones
That broke my brain for a second