Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

youtube.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 95 posts

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#61

Post by nazgulnarsil »

nazgulnarsil wrote: post #18

It's getting scary. It's not that we're going to have robots going haywire and killing people on its own. It's that the elite crust of humanity is going to use it againstt us. Think blackwater is bad now? How about when they're not even human beings? The thing keeping the elites in check for all of human history has been that they can't get too crazy or their own soldiers will mutiny. Hitler was a study in charismati…

many issues in the next few decades will involve technology outrunning our ability to make ethical choices about their uses. what will the ultimate effects be of crops with terminator genes be? what happens when biotech created in a lab winds up mutating out in the wild? human cloning and genetically tailored babies are great examples that are emerging right now.

of these robots being used as somewhat intelligent disposable soldiers scares me the most because it is the easiest to abuse and the effects would be felt immediately. when it becomes a matter of pressing a button to suppress an uprising, who will decide when it is appropriate to press that button? remember that winners get called freedom fighters and losers get called terrorists. The USA wouldn't exist today if our "freedom fighters" hadn't resisted british rule.

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#62

Post by tokipin »

icey wrote: post #59

This really has enormous implications over a lot of fields, not just military. I can see this technology being used in prosthetics, in home-care (walking bots), and all over the service industry. The first thing I thought when I saw this video was "what's the stock symbol for this company?".

what's interesting to me is it's not even that difficult to get life-like, self-balancing, responsive motion, etc with basic things like feedback loops (eg segway.) i don't know what to blame most robots' relative rudimentaryness on except their designers' lack of knowledge about things like that. to me the difficulty is much more in the physical mechanics than in the software. though after you get the mechanics down, the software would become the challenge

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#63

Post by 1gor »

euccastro wrote: post #55
1gor wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's scary is how much this comment reminds me of Reddit...

To be honest, I'm quite tired of all this "ugh, this is so reddit!" I wish people would discuss the (de)merits of comments in their own terms.

OK. I'll explain why it reminds me of reddit.

The author of the comment in question uses tired populist cliché (elites) and tries to impose their own political views on the reader (you think blackwater is bad).

Which is likely to generate a long, heated and shallow political debate rather than a discussion about the technology (or about the social implications of the technology).

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#64

Post by rms »

1gor wrote: post #63
euccastro wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, I'm quite tired of all this "ugh, this is so reddit!" I wish people would discuss the (de)merits of comments in their own terms.

OK. I'll explain why it reminds me of reddit. The author of the comment in question uses tired populist cliché ( elites ) and tries to impose their own political views on the reader ( you think blackwater is bad ). Which is likely to generate a long, heated and shallow political debate rather than a discussion about the technology (or about the social implications of the technology).

Blackwater being bad is not a political view; it is close to moral truth. I have talked to multiple US soldiers back from Iraq who have described Blackwater committing what would normally be war crimes. However, Blackwater is not subject to laws, so they're not war crimes.

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#65

Post by waleedka »

jonah wrote: post #51
mattjones wrote: post #24

This excites me. If they become common, people are going to spend a lot of time exploring the world -- an antidote to sitting behind your laptop all day. These things would make great pack animals. When you go hiking, you'll be able to toss your gear into one of these things and have it trot along behind you. You'll be able to take more risks because robots will be able to rescue you from tight places. If you get tir…

My question is why not a real mule? More flexible refueling options, has already been through many iterations, and not nearly as expensive. Seriously.

Because this is only the beginning, and soon you'll have versions that carry ten times more than a mule, travel faster, and can be controlled remotely.

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#66

Post by kajecounterhack »

jrsims wrote: post #38
mattjones wrote: post #24

This excites me. If they become common, people are going to spend a lot of time exploring the world -- an antidote to sitting behind your laptop all day. These things would make great pack animals. When you go hiking, you'll be able to toss your gear into one of these things and have it trot along behind you. You'll be able to take more risks because robots will be able to rescue you from tight places. If you get tir…

I admire your optimism. It is indeed exciting technology, but I think this will have military applications long before it is available for public use. For now, Roomba will have to do.

eh, I kicked my roomba... and it broke.

gotta get one of these pack mule buggers...

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#67

Post by SwellJoe »

sabat wrote: post #27
thorax wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's when the hackers here step in, right?

As long as hacking without a license remains legal.

Sense. Your comment makes none.

Hackers (or crackers, if you prefer) don't wait for permission.

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#68

Post by SwellJoe »

astine wrote: post #57
nazgulnarsil wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand, i'm usually against conspiracy theory bullshit myself. using robots on the battlefield is the only subject I get a little spooked over.

Robots on the battlefield doesn't spook me at all. It seems to me to be an improvement over sending people to risk their lives.

"It seems to me to be an improvement over sending people to risk their lives."

So, who are the robots fighting then if not people? I'm just thinking what a frightening thing it would be for an empire builder like GWB to have a conscience-less army of mechanical killers. At least our armed forces generally want to avoid killing innocents. Big Dogs with M50 machine guns don't care about such fine distinctions. So, yes, it could be scary.

Now, of course, as soon as these are available to the general public, I fully intend to exercise my second amendment right to own robotic death machines. That's in the constitution, right?

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#69

Post by rms »

rms wrote: post #64
1gor wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK. I'll explain why it reminds me of reddit. The author of the comment in question uses tired populist cliché ( elites ) and tries to impose their own political views on the reader ( you think blackwater is bad ). Which is likely to generate a long, heated and shallow political debate rather than a discussion about the technology (or about the social implications of the technology).

Blackwater being bad is not a political view; it is close to moral truth. I have talked to multiple US soldiers back from Iraq who have described Blackwater committing what would normally be war crimes. However, Blackwater is not subject to laws, so they're not war crimes.

Details of one of the incidents:

Soldier was in the Air Force, in northern Iraq near the Iranian border. They had a warrant to raid a house looking for a weapons cache. They did the raid with some guys from Blackwater. When they got inside, there was a guy laying on the couch watching TV. Normally, anyone inside a house during a raid would be put in flexcuffs. A guy from Blackwater just shot him, while he was laying on the couch.

Re: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

#70

Post by SwellJoe »

carpal wrote: post #32
iamwil wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment got me thinking. From a technical point of view of traversing over unknown and uneven terrain, there really is no reason to go with bipedal, especially if it's easier to do control systems for tri or quadraped robots. Of the handful that can be bipedal (primates, bears, birds), it's not their preferred mode of movement. However, it's probably a psychological disadvantage for the robots to be 3 or 4 legge…

There are only two real advantages to bipeds: 1) Height 2) Use of spare limbs for tools Height doesn't seem to be much of an advantage for robots at this stage, and I think that robots could have 6 limbs with no problem. Therefore, biped robots are really only a novelty.

3) Use of human devices that are biped specific

Ladders, automobiles and heavy machinery, household equipment, etc. all rule out quadrupeds.

While it would be possible to custom-build all of this stuff to be usable by a quadruped, it means you then have to have two of everything if you plan to cohabitate with a robot assistant. From the perspective of assistance robots, it's not going to be possible to accomplish everything without bipedal bots.

I think wheeled bots (like Trevor's Monty) will also be a great option--probably a tenth the cost of a walking mechanism, an order of magnitude more speed and endurance, etc. But they'll still be unsuitable for many assistance robot tasks. Stairs, for example. And unlike the Daleks, leveling the building will not suffice as a solution to the problem of climbing stairs.

Post reply on HN