Around our house, Boston Dynamics are the rock stars of robotic technology. Finding that they’ve distributed a new video on youtube is like waking up to a full stocking on Christmas morning. I’ve posted previously about their most famous design, The Big Dog, but here’s an updated video – now with 50% more “Holy #$%@, […]
I think of mules as one of our early forays into genetic experimentation – or, at least, as the result of a slow Saturday night on some ancient rancher’s spread.
Despite my peace-loving ways, I tend to spend more time than I should considering the future of war.
Do you recall the scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which the monolith-touching ape realizes he might smash bone if he…
No slavery can be abolished without a double emancipation, and the master will benefit by freedom more than the freed-man. – Thomas Huxley Below is a test for the Geminoid DK, a facial replica of Professor Henrik Scharfe, from Denmark’s Aalborg University. My understanding is that this was recorded early in the test cycle, and […]
It wasn’t long ago that I discussed the robotic cheetahs being developed by Boston Dynamics, but it only just occurred to me that there’s no reason they couldn’t build a mountable version. One possible future: at an American combat base, dawn is just clearing the Afghani mountains and shedding some light on the already ongoing […]
My favourite roboticist firm, Boston Dynamics, has found a new way to bring on our terrifying future. BigDog’s makers are working on a new quadruped that moves faster than any human and is agile enough to “chase and evade.” Boston Dynamics, maker of the Army’s robotic mule BigDog announced today that Darpa has awarded it […]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL0aiQAm4RU] This is a bot out of the University of Pennsylvania, although they apparently received some insight from my favourite of the rock-star roboticist firms, Boston Dynamics. It doesn’t look like it would last long if placed in a fighting arena against some of the Battlebots of yore, but you’ve got to keep in mind […]
I understand the want, and need, to move away from testing weaponry on things that are actually alive, but, in some cases, what alternative do we have? Enter robotics firm Midwest Research Institute (with a little assistance from our favourite terror-machine creators, Boston Dynamics). From Polijam.com KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 18 (UPI) — A humanoid […]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDljbN7eJ5Y] While it looks more like a toaster with legs than Usain Bolt [? – JRD], Cornell University’s Ranger robot has set some track records all the same. On July 6, Ranger set a world record for untethered robotic walking, traveling 14.3 miles in only 11 hours. Guided by students with a remote control, Ranger […]