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DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

extremetech.com

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Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#41

Post by finnw »

HNJohnC wrote: post #18
Shivetya wrote: post #9

What is the point of having it be bipedal? Would not the dog/four legged system work out better? You could still have it manipulate items with forelegs if you wanted but keep the inherit stability

The reason is that human size and shape allows for replacing a human in any situation such as driving a vehicle or fitting into airline seats or what have you.

A robot that drives a vehicle can be an integral part of that vehicle, likely far cheaper than a humanoid robot that fits in the seat (and also shares the human driver's disadvantage of poor peripheral vision.)

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#42

Post by hedonist »

robotresearcher wrote: post #26
hedonist wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Real" military applications, perhaps not. "Pseudo-military" operations, i.e. in our rapidly militarizing civilian police forces, perhaps not so far off.

You think a police robot is easier than a soldier robot? Why? Both services are deploying robots as fast as they can. Thousands are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cost of training per role is probably a pretty good metric.

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#43

Post by finnw »

robotresearcher wrote: post #26
hedonist wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Real" military applications, perhaps not. "Pseudo-military" operations, i.e. in our rapidly militarizing civilian police forces, perhaps not so far off.

You think a police robot is easier than a soldier robot? Why? Both services are deploying robots as fast as they can. Thousands are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

> Thousands are in Iraq and Afghanistan

Those are not humanoid.

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#44

Post by finnw »

snorkel wrote: post #34
mamcx wrote: post #8

The current geek want it, the future geek with the robotic gun in his head don't.

Considering how hard it is for bi-pedal bots to maintain balance, you could just kick it over and walk away.

This one is quite good at maintaining balance. It is demonstrated in the video.

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#45

Post by robotresearcher »

hedonist wrote: post #42
robotresearcher wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think a police robot is easier than a soldier robot? Why? Both services are deploying robots as fast as they can. Thousands are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cost of training per role is probably a pretty good metric.

The cost of training a human pilot is higher than a shoe-store clerk. Software already pilots planes very well, but working in a shoe store is very hard for a robot.

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#46

Post by robotresearcher »

finnw wrote: post #43
robotresearcher wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think a police robot is easier than a soldier robot? Why? Both services are deploying robots as fast as they can. Thousands are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

> Thousands are in Iraq and Afghanistan Those are not humanoid.

Right, but the grandparent suggested that we'd see such robots in police applications before military. I'm asking why he thinks this is so. We are not seeing this with the non-humanoids.

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#47

Post by Goronmon »

finnw wrote: post #41
HNJohnC wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason is that human size and shape allows for replacing a human in any situation such as driving a vehicle or fitting into airline seats or what have you.

A robot that drives a vehicle can be an integral part of that vehicle, likely far cheaper than a humanoid robot that fits in the seat (and also shares the human driver's disadvantage of poor peripheral vision.)

Then how about being able to be a passenger in a vehicle with any special modification?

Re: DARPA and Boston Dynamics unveil a new humanoid robot

#50

Post by dm2 »

Shivetya wrote: post #9

What is the point of having it be bipedal? Would not the dog/four legged system work out better? You could still have it manipulate items with forelegs if you wanted but keep the inherit stability

I don't think 4 legs would be better.

As you can see, balance is not an issue with quick enough joints and good software. The current ATLAS can easily balance on one leg. The other leg is just there to provide locomotion.

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