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How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

spectrum.ieee.org

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Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#101

Post by qayxc »

yarcob wrote: post #92
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This won't end well. Care to expand on that? I'm very cynical about Boston Dynamics, given that - as far as I can tell / know - they've only done tech demos and again as far as I know don't have significant commercial success, or their robots doing things outside of (carefully orchestrated) tech demos. disclaimer: I never actually looked on their website for user cases or whatnot.

As soon as they make a usable remote control for that robot the US military is going to buy a bunch of them and attach machine guns and use them to shoot up "suspected terrorists". Looking at what the US military has been doing with drones, that scenario doesn't seem that far fetched.

> Looking at what the US military has been doing with drones, that scenario doesn't seem that far fetched.

This scenario will remain science fiction until we invent a compact power source with an energy density (by both mass- and volume) matching fossil fuels.

The military has no use for loud and cumbersome petrol-powered monstrosities like Big Dog (which is why the project was axed) or underpowered robots with an endurance that's measured in minutes (like Spot) in combat scenarios.

Once such power source is available, though, the independence and versatility of a human in power armour would still be far superior to a remote controlled robot that can be hacked or have its comms jammed with COTS equipment...

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#102

Post by qayxc »

typhon04 wrote: post #88
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This won't end well. Care to expand on that? I'm very cynical about Boston Dynamics, given that - as far as I can tell / know - they've only done tech demos and again as far as I know don't have significant commercial success, or their robots doing things outside of (carefully orchestrated) tech demos. disclaimer: I never actually looked on their website for user cases or whatnot.

I think the dog-like robot - Spot is commercial. SpaceX are using one to asses things on their launch pad. But I guess it's truly a difficult problem and they aren't rushing it to market before is good and save enough. Which if they have the funding I think is a good approach.

Spot is a solution in search of a problem.

SpaceX are using one because I think simply because someone thought it'd be cool. You can remotely inspect a launch pad without shelling out $75k+ using RC cars and drones, for example. It's much cooler and better for the company's overall image, though, if you use a Spot robot. PR is a thing after all and using Spot fits perfectly.

I seriously doubt there's any difficulty with safety or "being good enough", as I've yet to see an application for Spot that couldn't be done just as well by conventional already existing means.

BD is a group of enthusiasts that build cool robots, not a company that primarily develops robotic solutions.

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#103

Post by qayxc »

ernopp wrote: post #89
wiz21c wrote: post #42

Not to rain on anyone's parade BUT what about the battery life ?

> You mentioned that Spot is now robust enough to dance all day. How about Atlas? If you kept on replacing its batteries, could it dance all day, too?

That doesn't answer the question. Even Spot requires constant battery swapping to be able to function all day. Its battery life is measured in minutes, not hours.

The comment referred to robustness, not endurance.

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#104

Post by qayxc »

wiz21c wrote: post #42

Not to rain on anyone's parade BUT what about the battery life ?

The battery life is abysmal. These machines use the same batteries as every other piece of contemporary tech.

Spot can walk about for 90 minutes top and the more it needs to do (e.g. running additional sensors, performing autonomous functions, etc.), the shorter its battery life will be (I'd guess around an hour is more realistic).

Bipedal prototypes like Atlas wouldn't last that long. Think 20 minutes or so for a heavy robot like that.

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#105

Post by exikyut »

qayxc wrote: post #101
yarcob wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As soon as they make a usable remote control for that robot the US military is going to buy a bunch of them and attach machine guns and use them to shoot up "suspected terrorists". Looking at what the US military has been doing with drones, that scenario doesn't seem that far fetched.

> Looking at what the US military has been doing with drones, that scenario doesn't seem that far fetched. This scenario will remain science fiction until we invent a compact power source with an energy density (by both mass- and volume) matching fossil fuels. The military has no use for loud and cumbersome petrol-powered monstrosities like Big Dog (which is why the project was axed) or underpowered robots with an en…

Wait, Spot's power source only lasts minutes?

Ah, its battery runs for 90 minutes.

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#106

Post by rattray »

rtx wrote: post #58
ultimoo wrote: post #23

Fascinating! On a separate note, I was reading up on Boston Dynamics just the other day and was surprised to see that they are now owned by Hyundai (Google X sold BD to SoftBank who sold them to Hyundai). I guess was surprised to see non US-based ownership because I had always assumed the US government had some interest in the core technology.

Still with a protectorate.

What does that mean?

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#107

Post by qayxc »

laydn wrote: post #24

Anyone know, how long would these robots keep dancing, with the on-board batteries?

Spot could easily last an hour or more - BD quotes about 90 minutes of walking on a single charge.

Atlas on the other hand is still a prototype, so it's not optimised in that regard and also much bigger, heavier and bulkier. I'd guess it doesn't last longer than maybe 20 minutes or so.

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#109

Post by mromanuk »

bigbizisverywyz wrote: post #80
jessep wrote: post #2

My sister choreographed this dance, and I’m a little unhappy that she isn’t mentioned here by name. She’s brilliant, and I want her to get credit. Her name is Monica Thomas. Her dance company is called Mad King Thomas. Here is her brand new Twitter account: https://mobile.twitter.com/onetruebonc Her sense of humor is captured by her choice of the song “Do you love me”, which is a winking but still charming reference…

I personally would have loved to see a human dancer dancing alongside the robots, that would have given an interesting comparison.

Me too. Wouldn’t be cool if the robots dance along humans, replacing iconic videoclips or scenes? Like the scene of Jerry (from Tom & Jerry) dancing with Gene Kelly https://youtu.be/2msq6H2HI-Y Or Paula Abdul “Opposites attract” https://youtu.be/xweiQukBM_k

Re: How Boston Dynamics Taught Its Robots to Dance

#110

Post by ghc »

rattray wrote: post #106
rtx wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still with a protectorate.

What does that mean?

Being a protectorate means by treaty the US has some responsibility for the military defense of Korea.

https://www.americanforeignrelations.com/O-W/Protectorates-a...

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