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| Image via Wired |
How cool is this? Funded by DARPA, Boston Dynamics is working on a robotic cheetah! It will have run faster than any human, be able to make sharp turns to "chase and evade", and stop on a dime. It will be used in military, but they haven't specified how yet, and they also plan to use it in emergency situations such as, "emergency response, firefighting, advanced agriculture and vehicular travel."
Boston Dynamics is the same company that made "Big Dog". If you haven't seen Big Dog, here's a video that will either make you go "AWESOME!" or give you nightmares (most likely both). I remember seeing it a couple years ago and freaking out, with a mixture of amazement and fright. Here's another video, showing it walking through different types of terrain, slipping on ice, and being kicked. It's impressive how it regains its balance in each situation.
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| Image via Wired |
Another design they're working on is Atlas, a bipedal humanoid type robot capable of walking over difficult terrain, crawling, and turning to fit into narrow spaces. It's an advancement from their earlier robot, PETMAN. Here's a video showing the PETMAN walking, and, of course, being kicked.
I've pretty much always thought robots were awesome, and Boston Dynamic's creations are no exception. They're super cool, and I can't wait to see the new ones! But I also mentioned how creepy I find them, at the same time. I think the odd feeling I'm getting from these is caused by the Uncanny Valley, which basically says that the closer something is to looking like a real human, the more empathy a person will have for it, until a point in human likeness is reached where the response becomes a strong revulsion. (Please read more about it at the link I provided to get a better idea of this; it truly is a remarkable topic.) There are different theories about what causes this, but I think it has to do with the fact that when something looks extremely realistic, but isn't real, your mind subconsciously picks up on the minor differences, which kind of amplifies them (read in that Wiki article about "Violation of human norms" for more about what I mean). In this situation, the robots don't necessarily look very realistic, but the movement is so strangely realistic that I believe the Uncanny Valley still applies.
Either way, yes, robots rule, and I can't wait to see videos of the Cheetah-Bot! Heck yeah!
Read the full article at Wired.
Read the full article at Wired.
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