Boston Dynamics Robots

[dr wogz]

It's pretty amazing what they are doing.
And from what we see, they are pretty advanced / cool / "science fiction sis becoming reality" / [insert other adjective for 'pretty cool']

But think about what they are not showing us!! What is kept secret / how old these videos actually are!

 

[Nytrunner]

how old these videos actually are!

And how many times it took to get it right! (What you can see from.the lighting is that various clips were from different times of day)

 

[aerostadt]

I found these videos to be fascinating. I remember about 10 years ago it was a steep challenge just to a robot standing upright while doing the simplest things. Obviously, Boston Dynamics has poured a lot of money and time into getting these working models. Does anyone know if their effort is paying off? Are they selling these robots? Is anyone using them in practical situations?

 

[thequick]

https://shop.bostondynamics.com/spot?cclcl=en_US&pid=aDl6g000000XdpZCAS
Spot retails for $74,500. There is a list of clients on the web site. (Seems like a short list to me)

 

[mo2872]

And how many times it took to get it right! (What you can see from.the lighting is that various clips were from different times of day)

You can also see wear marks in the flooring...

 

[Cnorm]

Spots have been used as a platform for telemedicine (remote doctors visits via video) but there's arguments telemedicine can be performed on wheeled bots or even stationary fixtures.

The big deal with the BD robots is the agility that comes with articulated legs and the ability to balance itself. The question is, where would legs be an advantage over wheels? Agriculture? Search and rescue in difficult terrain? Contruction site tasks?

At $70k retail for a Spot, i would imagine wealthy people buying one simply for the coolness factor of having one in their home.

I for one welcome our new robot overlords.

 

[icyclops]

Shadowless lighting with moving cameras is a proven, relatively easy technique taught to AV students in high school. It's no proof of CGI.

Yup believe what you will...I’m in the photo/vid/animation industry and I say different. AV students in HS probably don’t even have the equipment it would take To test/learn that concept...or the money...
Looking at the first video really shows all the tell tale signs of CGI....even the reflections in that glass wall are too perfect....

 

[KC3KNM]

Yup believe what you will...I’m in the photo/vid/animation industry and I say different. AV students in HS probably don’t even have the equipment it would take To test/learn that concept...or the money...
Looking at the first video really shows all the tell tale signs of CGI....even the reflections in that glass wall are too perfect....

What are all the “tell tale signs of CGI” you see in this video?

 

[icyclops]

But nice robots...I like the way they move.

 

[icyclops]

I downloaded the vid so I could enlarge it in my photo/vid programs and noticed heavy pixelation and non alignment of certain structures and non existent shadows of certain background equipment/structures. Also noticed that in certain movements of the robots the shadows didn’t line up if they used overhead lighting techniques....which would be required to shut out any heavy shadows. You could use a great vid camera that can grab anything at low light levels, but the first part of the movie shows none even with the light coming in through the windows. The later part of the movie shows heavy floor shadowing from the windows to make it more believable, but the first part gives it away....lots of effects/tricks that really worked well, but lighting/shadows/reflections do not convince me that this is totally the real thing. I’m sure these robots can move with great agility, but either this movie has been heavily retouched to remove lighting setup, or is a great CGI job. Anyway believe what you will, I actually really liked the first video they did.

 

[Cape Byron]

Anyway believe what you will, I actually really liked the first video they did.

Well, that is the democracy of forums like this. We agree to disagree. Doesn't mean we'll disagree about everything.

 

[KC3KNM]

I downloaded the vid so I could enlarge it in my photo/vid programs and noticed heavy pixelation and non alignment of certain structures and non existent shadows of certain background equipment/structures. Also noticed that in certain movements of the robots the shadows didn’t line up if they used overhead lighting techniques....which would be required to shut out any heavy shadows. You could use a great vid camera that can grab anything at low light levels, but the first part of the movie shows none even with the light coming in through the windows. The later part of the movie shows heavy floor shadowing from the windows to make it more believable, but the first part gives it away....lots of effects/tricks that really worked well, but lighting/shadows/reflections do not convince me that this is totally the real thing. I’m sure these robots can move with great agility, but either this movie has been heavily retouched to remove lighting setup, or is a great CGI job. Anyway believe what you will, I actually really liked the first video they did.

Wouldn’t doubt it being touched up, but why would they have to fake this? Care to share some examples of these discrepancies? A quick screen grab of a few of these would make it clearer.

Compared to other demonstrations they’ve put out, dancing seems pretty basic. I think the CGI accusation is silly, but to each their own.

 

[Greg Furtman]

After watching the BD video I ran across this by Adam Savage, the former Myth Buster. I must admit the technology has come a long ways over the past decade.

 

[Nytrunner]

Discussion with a BD lead about preparing the robot routines

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton...ow-boston-dynamics-taught-its-robots-to-dance

 

[Greg Furtman]

Discussion with a BD lead about preparing the robot routines

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton...ow-boston-dynamics-taught-its-robots-to-dance

Absolutely amazing. I sent the original dance video out to friends and one of them got back to me saying that some of his friends that he forwarded it to thought this was not possible and it was some sort of CGI. I sent him this link.

 

[Funkworks]

For anyone wondering, in a nutshell, Boston Dynamics was started by MIT and DARPA about 30 years ago, purchased by a Google company in 2013, and sold to Japan's SoftBank Group in 2017. About one month ago, it was purchased by Hyundai Motor Group. Still headquartered in Massachussetts.

 

[aerostadt]

For anyone wondering, in a nutshell, Boston Dynamics was started by MIT and DARPA about 30 years ago, purchased by a Google company in 2013, and sold to Japan's SoftBank Group in 2017. About one month ago, it was purchased by Hyundai Motor Group. Still headquartered in Massachussetts.

I'm glad it wasn't acquired by the Chinese. (However, if this technology succeeds big, here is another industry going overseas.)

 

[Funkworks]

A short "how it's made" clip that came out today. Just had to slip it in.

 

[dhbarr]

I work in operations for some reasonably high tech stuff. The reason I'm not worried about The Robot Uprising is because, in my experience, that pesky second law of thermodynamics ( that I spend my entire life fighting ) is quite good at ensuring the thing you engineered to last eventually won't.

Now when they get bots to automatically diagnose what's wrong with themselves and repair each other, that'll be a lot more interesting. I won't have a job anymore, so maybe I'll join the Wolverines or something.

 

[Funkworks]

Movies and sci-fi stories are the only reasons people have a fear of humanoid robots. They’re just metal and electronics and we already have plenty of that all around us.

 

[Cape Byron]

Movies and sci-fi stories are the only reasons people have a fear of humanoid robots. They’re just metal and electronics and we already have plenty of that all around us.

Siri was bad enough, now half the house wants to listen to you.

 

[Funkworks]

The rockets we build could also be dangerous, yet we follow a safety code. Same with robot builders. Same with buildings, cars, planes, everything. Computer and network security is still being worked out but generally safe (spam and viruses are managed). Everything could be dangerous, but everyone is regulated, so everything is built to be safe. On the military side, I still don't see what Terminator has over a Humvee.

 

[OverTheTop]

but everyone is regulated,

except the people that don't care or don't have morals aligning with your's and mine.

 

[Cape Byron]

On the military side, I still don't see what Terminator has over a Humvee.

Autonomy and an imitable accent.

 

[Cape Byron]

except the people that don't care or don't have morals aligning with your's and mine.

Exactly. There are regulations regarding nuclear weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons. You might follow them, but others don't. As soon as there is one miscreant there will be many. History is populated with people who had/have no moral code worth mentioning.

 

[NateB]

The rockets we build could also be dangerous, yet we follow a safety code. Same with robot builders.

Isaac Asimov addressed this:

 

[Greg Furtman]

Isaac Asimov addressed this:

I sure hope Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics happens.