Impressive … and scary. Why is it that this company is moving so fast when others like Boston Dynamics don’t seem to have made much progress?
There's no use for these robots(even militarily). It's very high tech, but that's it.
Unitree As2-W
21–30 of 75 posts
Re: Unitree As2-W
#22Impressive … and scary. Why is it that this company is moving so fast when others like Boston Dynamics don’t seem to have made much progress?
Chinese work ethic driven by overproduction of STEM majors leading to 25% youth unemployment...also they probably stole a lot of the fundamental stuff that was super hard to produce but easy to copy and build on top of.
On the other side: Years of VC focusing on the next great app to make you some cooked eggs instead of investing in companies operating in the physical world.
Re: Unitree As2-W
#23how is this robot seems to have perfect traction ?
its either rolls perfectly without traction or walks uphill with perfect traction ?
is it AI generated video or did they make some groundbreaking success ?
or is it just promo video, showing future potential, not yet developed capabilities ?
Re: Unitree As2-W
#24how is this robot seems to have perfect traction ? its either rolls perfectly without traction or walks uphill with perfect traction ? is it AI generated video or did they make some groundbreaking success ? or is it just promo video, showing future potential, not yet developed capabilities ?
It doesn't have perfect traction. It stumbles in the videos. This is consistent with other wheeled robots that have come out the last few years.
Re: Unitree As2-W
#25This is way more of what I thought robotics companies should be working on over their dumb 4 legged dog like robots. Wheels were invented for a reason and we are awfully good at moving things around on them at speed. Combining multiple attributes into a single form will ultimately prove to be the winning formula. Just like in a year or two you will start to see more appendages than just two arms on humanoids.
I think this is a clever idea.
A hub motor for each leg adds some weight, but you get a rolling mode on flat terrain with great range.
At the same time you keep obstacle climbing mode with stationary wheels, and can use the leg actuators as shock absorbers and obstacle avoidance on a bumpy path. Best of both worlds, with a new software challenge.
Re: Unitree As2-W
#26https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA8WuXDXfcI
relevant link.
I remember watching this video with the takeaway: if you want it secure, build it yourself... which is what I am currently doing.
Re: Unitree As2-W
#27when can i hop on its back and ride it like an all-terrain ultra-longboard?
Re: Unitree As2-W
#28Impressive … and scary. Why is it that this company is moving so fast when others like Boston Dynamics don’t seem to have made much progress?
Chinese work ethic driven by overproduction of STEM majors leading to 25% youth unemployment...also they probably stole a lot of the fundamental stuff that was super hard to produce but easy to copy and build on top of. On the other side: Years of VC focusing on the next great app to make you some cooked eggs instead of investing in companies operating in the physical world.
I often hear about "muh china stealing", two questions come to mind:
1. how could they steal something that western companies dont even have yet?
2. for more fundamental stuff, western companies did transfer knowledge themselves by moving factories to China, in exchange for decades of access to China market and exorbitant profits they earned. Where exactly is "supposed stealing" in unitree ?
Re: Unitree As2-W
#29This thing reminds me of something out of Death stranding, Hideo Kojima was way ahead of his time
You might also say that about Terry Pratchett… see Twoflower and The Luggage.
Re: Unitree As2-W
#30Impressive … and scary. Why is it that this company is moving so fast when others like Boston Dynamics don’t seem to have made much progress?
Chinese work ethic driven by overproduction of STEM majors leading to 25% youth unemployment...also they probably stole a lot of the fundamental stuff that was super hard to produce but easy to copy and build on top of. On the other side: Years of VC focusing on the next great app to make you some cooked eggs instead of investing in companies operating in the physical world.
Their earlier robots (A1, Go 1) have a lot of lineage from Ben Kats' (from MIT) Mini Cheetah project, even down to the shape of the communication protocols used for motor control. I've not had the chance to closely inspect their newer robots, so I can't tell you what's their secret sauce, but I suspect it has as much to do with RL-based control and software as it does with hardware improvements.