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Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

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Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#151

Post by zorex »

guerrilla wrote: post #136

I don't know why people are impressed. Robots are hard and this is a big step forward but it's still useless. This is far from being as functional as automotive manufacturing robots or even vacuum cleaners. This is nothing like the goal we're striving for with these things. There's very a long way to go until this does what we want.

Why not be impressed? The reasons you gave are enough for the majority of people following along. The exciting parts are the steps along the way. Once we have something that is actually usable and integrated into our everyday lives, it will lose its novelty fast.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#152

Post by Tepix »

Looking at the cool non-human movement of the head, the upper torso and the legs i'm wondering if changing the legs so that they are symmetrical, instead of the knees only bending in one direction, is a coming improvement. That way it could walk forward and backward.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#153

Post by coding123 »

FabHK wrote: post #119
dartos wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can buy a very specialized machine for one task, or but a less efficient machine that could handle very many tasks.

And the latter has (at least in IT, where you had Moore's law) generally won out fairly quickly.

But in industrialised physical space, it has been the former, especially when things scale to produce 1000 objects per minute.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#154

Post by amelius »

Tepix wrote: post #152

Looking at the cool non-human movement of the head, the upper torso and the legs i'm wondering if changing the legs so that they are symmetrical, instead of the knees only bending in one direction, is a coming improvement. That way it could walk forward and backward.

Humans can walk backward. And you still need to move the payload to the other side.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#156

Post by amelius »

yumraj wrote: post #96
jamala1 wrote: post #24

Chinese Unitree's demos are better by now imo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dFTc4W8wm0

Something rubs me the wrong way when the dog is hit and kicked, and we don't have a dog. I know it's a robot but the same could be demonstrated without clear violence. Maybe it's just me..

It is expected that some humans will not accept robots walking among the public. So they have to be vandalism-proof.

However, the guy in the video is attacking the robot in the wrong way. He should be using a spray paint can instead of a baseball bat.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#157

Post by amelius »

the__alchemist wrote: post #43

I think whenever I see humanoid robots like this: What is the battery life? I imagine this will be a critical limitation on these, until further notice.

Once we can let the robots build the robots, it doesn't matter really how many robots are charging at any point.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#158

Post by qwertox »

Animats wrote: post #131

It's a nice piece of machinery. Looks like they finally went all-electric and got rid of the hydraulics. The new model is much less bulky. The task it is doing is undemanding. It's just moving things from one set of large slots to another. No need for precision placement, unstructured bin-picking, or object separation. If it could pick up engine covers from the messy pile seen atop one of the racks and slot them into…

> The task it is doing is undemanding.

Have you noticed how in second 13 it rotates the lower body clockwise while the upper body rotates counter-clockwise in order to optimize the movements to archive the goal?

All (bipedal/quadrupedal) robots I've seen behave either like an animal or a human, but this one is something else. Imagine the inverse kinematics required to perform such a movement, and how precise even the slight left foot's clockwise rotation is.

It does these very uncanny movements multiple times in the video, this video less about moving that thing from here to there than about how it does it. Also the recovery it had when it failed to insert one of the objects.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#159

Post by heresie-dabord »

101008 wrote: post #31

In which aspect is this better than a human?* It's slower, energy-wise more expensive (a human with just a sandwich can work for hours), less preciss and error-prone. As a Manager, I would prefer a person that I can blame (corporative and legally) if something goes wrong, that being responsible (legally, mainly!) if this robot makes a huge mistake. * From a business point of view. This is an incredible techinal achie…

> As a Manager, I would prefer a person that I can blame (corporative and legally) if something goes wrong, that being responsible (legally, mainly!) if this robot makes a huge mistake.

Might you not prefer working with a colleague who brings skills and knowledge to the work environment, understands the business, is motivated to improve the operation, and can respectfully discuss the challenges that you face as a team?

Someone who, if treated fairly and with respect, may help build success as your co-worker and perhaps even community as your neighbour?

In exchange for a decent wage and an affordable sandwich, of course.

Re: Boston Dynamics robot Atlas goes hands on [video]

#160

Post by berkes »

317070 wrote: post #145
numpad0 wrote: post #117

Anyone who don't know what manufacturing automation looked like for past decades should go watch those "factory tours" video or two. Then write down what are shared characteristics of manually handled objects in it and what are deltas between those videos and this. There are just way too many fantasies around here. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQeQWGqfFN0 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csifG1AM5d8 3: https:…

At first, humanoids will not be used for these inflexible, old-style mass manufacturing factories. Humanoids can automate where flexibility is needed. E.g. a baker baking 5000 breads a day for a local community cannot afford the capital expenditure to automate every step in his pipeline with these ABB machines. He could afford to automate with one of these new humanoids though, as the same machine first does step 1,…

> to automate every step in his pipeline with these ABB machines.

That's still too much "inside the box" thinking.

That baker doesn't need "automate everything", in fact, no-one does.

What "that baker" needs, is to rank work on effort, cross sectioned with "costs to automate". And then automate the top item or items only.

The baker needs a machine to knead the dough. Special tools to cut the dough of twenty cookies at once with minimal waste. Trays and tools that can be cleaned in a dishwasher. A bread slicing machine. A bakery that can be mopped in one go, rather than a fully automated humanoid mopping machine.

This is an analogy for all automation: we don't need to cover 100%, be fully autonomous, 100% flexible. We need to automate the hardest part, even if that's boring tech. Then the next hardest part. And so on.

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