Boston Dynamics latest video shows a herd of robotic dogs hauling a massive truck with ease

[Demovictory9]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/04/18/boston-dynamics-latest-video-shows-herd-robotic-dogs-hauling-massive-truck-with-ease/?utm_term=.5811d7433226

An individual SpotMini can carry only 31 pounds, but they apparently contain enough collective power to pull a vehicle that likely weighs at least 10,000 pounds. It only takes 10 of the 66-pound robots — hitched together like metallic sled dogs and marching with militaristic precision — to get the vehicle rolling.

[Boston Dynamics’ newest robot is a massive birdlike machine that works in a warehouse]

That unmistakable power and precision left many of the video’s nearly two million YouTube videos feeling deeply uneasy.


“Boston Dynamics CEO: “Okay, team. We haven’t freaked out the YouTube crowd in about two weeks,” a viewer named Scott Davidson wrote. "We need to stay on top of it. What have you got?”

“Wow now that they are making an army all they need to do is give those spots mounted machine guns and the end of the world is near,” another viewer with the name BlitzSterz added.

Boston Dynamics appears to delight in dropping simple yet startling videos without warning, revealing stunning advances in robotic technology without much context or comment. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about their latest video, but a caption at the bottom hinted at the machine’s commercial debut:

“These Spot robots are coming off the production line now and will be available for a range of applications soon,” the caption states.

[dewsgirl]

1. Very cool.

[zaj]

2. Yes and creepy too.. the invention of our robout overlords.

[dewsgirl]

7. Yes, that too.

[Renew Deal]

3. Wouldn't it be a "pack" of robotic dogs?

And I read maul instead of haul. Big disappointment for me.

[suffragette]

4. The future will look different in ways we haven't foreseen. Imagine this tech becoming, say, the

next generation of ‘tow trucks.’

Just a small example of current changes that weren’t foreseen. I was running errands downtown the other day and was struck by the number of people talking to ‘themselves.” Most of them were actually talking to someone else via earphones. What once stood out as unusual has now become the norm.

[Solly Mack]

5. Metalhead. Still, very cool.

[Miigwech]

6. They mimic insects more than dogs

[Demovictory9]

9. True... with those knees that bend backwards

[FiveGoodMen]

8. "All of this has happened before...

...and all of it will happen again."