A series of recent videos are showcasing the unsettling army of robots from Boston Dynamics, featuring their rather frightening set of abilities. This time around the robots in question are actually full-fledged, differently shaped machines that display different sets of abilities. From the very first glance you take on any of these robots manufactured by the company supported by Google, you will notice that the trademark feature of them all is locomotion.
The main idea behind all of these robots is a new method that allows them to move, walk and even run very similarly to how the factor of inspiration behind their construction does. Some of the robots are human-like, like Atlas and PETMAN, while others mimic various types of animals such as dogs, cheetahs and horses. Each robot that Boston Dynamics has built was made for a particular study reason.
For example, the LS3 is a four legged robot designed to go anywhere marines and soldiers would go on foot, being able to walk on any time of damaged terrain and carry huge amounts of weight – up to 400 lbs and able to walk for as long as 20 miles or 24 hours on a single fuel charge.
The PETMAN, on the other hand, is a robot that was designed to test chemical protection clothing and was made in such a manner that it would be agile and very flexible in order to suit its purpose. The fact that the PETMAN is able to balance itself is not even the most stunning ability that the robot is capable of. In fact, the robot is capable of simulating human reactions and controls temperature, humidity and sweating according to the tasks he is put up to.
But Boston Dynamics is up to a lot more than that. So far they’ve also designed wall-climbing robots, leaping robots, robots that can run as fast as 29 miles per hour on level ground and much more.
But while the concepts themselves are astounding to read about, watching the videos posted on the Boston Dynamics website is a whole different story that the word ‘unsettling’ can hardly describe. While the demonstrations done by the scientists manage to make their point well to showcase the robots’ ability to maintain their balance or get back up after they have been shoved and fell over, it’s hard to get over just how wrong it feels.
All of these robots may be obviously human-made, but their likeliness to live and sentient beings becomes frightening to say the least, especially when the demonstration needs to get a little rougher in order to show just how capable the robots are. Anyone watching these videos will at least once think about how the robots would feel about all of this if one day they become truly conscious.
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Michael Turner
