SpotMini isn't exactly what you call “adorable." Boston Dynamic introduced their latest robot dog that can help out around the house. (via Boston Dynamics)
There are two things guaranteed in life: death and dishes. No matter how much time you spend at the sink scrubbing and scrapping yesterday's pasta sauce, they always come back like some bad horror movie. But it's 2016, shouldn't we have advanced robots to take care of these chores for us? Robotics company Boston Dynamics may have created a solution, albeit a terrifying one. The company recently unveiled its newest quadrupedal robot SpotMini, a smaller version of their current line of robotic pack animals.
So it's a robotic dog that does dishes? Sort of. SpotMini roughly weighs 55 pounds, compared to Alpha Dog's 240 pounds, and stands about two feet tall. What makes this pup different from its older siblings, it doesn't rely on hydraulics. It's completely electric, making it the quietest robot Boston Dynamics has ever built. Between charges it can run up to 90 minutes and it has a full suite of sensors to help it navigate almost any environment. Its movements are pretty fluid and look like those of an actual dog, which can be unsettling if you look at it too long. It can even tackle stairs better than most sober adults.
When it comes to taking care of household chores, SpotMini can be taught or guided by a human to perform different tasks, kind of like a real dog – minus the fur and generally cute appeal. Some of the tasks SpotMini can do includes delivering snacks and drinks and loading the dishwasher using its articulated arm. But as a video posted by Boston Dynamics shows there are still some bugs to work out. Just a like a real dog SpotMini doesn't always behave. And just like all of us, the robo dog isn't immune to slipping on banana. But unlike other robots, SpotMini uses its articulated arm to right itself and its legs to stand back up.
Despite its flaws, SpotMini is still rather impressive especially with its articulated arm. It uses a solid state gyro and is able to perfectly hold its position in a 3D space while the rest of the robot wiggles around. This allows the robot to handle dangerous and fragile items with ease, while the rest of the bot can reposition itself to avoid hazards and other obstacles. SpotMini may not be the Rosie the Robot we've been waiting for, but it's still really impressive, yet scary to watch in motion. The robot is in the prototype phase, so it'll be a while before it hits the market. But once it does you'll have to remember not to get spooked in your own home when you see this guy walking around.
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