Most of us who grew up in the ’80s and earlier had a certain expectation of what robots were going to look like. We figured they’d mimic biological lifeforms at least to some degree. After all, that’s what we saw on TV and in the movies. From the robot on “Lost In Space” to Rosie on “The Jetsons,” we had expectations. And while the Roomba is cool and all that, it’s just not the same thing.
But Boston Dynamics gets it.
The company is known for their four- and two-legged robot designs that are both cutting edge technologically and can easily be seen as a platform for so much more than simply tooling around their facility.
Recently, the company revealed a sleeker four-legged robot in a 24-second teaser video that has taken the internet by storm.
Pretty sweet, huh?
SpotMini, as it’s called, appears to have a “head” at the front of the chassis with optical cameras on an overall package that is reminiscent of a sports car.
If nothing else, what this sleek package does is trigger a ton of thinking about what all can be added to SpotMini to make it more useful overall. It’s not hard to imagine one or two of these exploring the Martian or lunar landscape while humans kick back in the nice, climate-controlled habitat and wait for SpotMini to find something of interest on the surface.
And that’s just one example.
All of that pales in comparison to the overall cool factor of this robot just goofing off. While some people think walker designs for robots aren’t practical, Boston Dynamics proves that not only are they practical, but they’re pretty nifty to watch work as well.
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