Update On The Upcoming Robot Apocalypse

Well, Boston Dynamics is at it again with a new, (in their words) "nightmare inducing robot". Boston Dynamics has been best known for their bipedal and quadrupedal robots such as the "Big Dog" and "Cheetah" that have been featured in threads here. Now they've decided to experiment with adding wheels to their creation in what looks like a mutated Segway from hell.

The company’s new wheeled, upright robot is named Handle (“because it’s supposed to handle objects”) and looks like a cross between a Segway and the two-legged Atlas bot. Handle hasn’t been officially unveiled, but was shown off by company founder Marc Raibert in a presentation to investors. Footage of the presentation was uploaded to YouTube by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson.

Raibert describes Handle as an “experiment in combining wheels with legs, with a very dynamic system that is balancing itself all the time and has a lot of knowledge of how to throw its weight around.” He adds that using wheels is more efficient than legs, although there’s obviously a trade-off in terms of maneuvering over uneven ground. “This is the debut presentation of what I think will be a nightmare-inducing robot,” says Raibert:

The company’s new wheeled, upright robot is named Handle (“because it’s supposed to handle objects”) and looks like a cross between a Segway and the two-legged Atlas bot. Handle hasn’t been officially unveiled, but was shown off by company founder Marc Raibert in a presentation to investors. Footage of the presentation was uploaded to YouTube by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson.

Raibert describes Handle as an “experiment in combining wheels with legs, with a very dynamic system that is balancing itself all the time and has a lot of knowledge of how to throw its weight around.” He adds that using wheels is more efficient than legs, although there’s obviously a trade-off in terms of maneuvering over uneven ground. “This is the debut presentation of what I think will be a nightmare-inducing robot,” says Raibert:

The way this thing takes off from a standstill and lunges forward is really creepy. I imagine one of these chasing me down and grabbing me with its metal arms. It's balance and maneuverability are a major step up from previous robots. Watch for the jump it takes towards the end of the video. Amazing. Terrifying.

One hell of a scary thing, I wonder what will happen to the worker class!

One hell of a scary thing, I wonder what will happen to the worker class!

Hah ha, guy in fatigues narrating the sooo helpful robot tasks, taking out the garbage, turning the page of a magazine...

don't show them in their actual environment, as literal dogs of war.

a reply to: Syphone

Transformers - Beast Wars!

a reply to: Syphone

Transformers - Beast Wars!

Seeing that humanoid robot move boxes is a scary prospect for any warehouse worker. No breaks. No injuries. No union.

originally posted by: intrptr

Hah ha, guy in fatigues narrating the sooo helpful robot tasks, taking out the garbage, turning the page of a magazine...

don't show them in their actual environment, as literal dogs of war.

Agreed. I can picture it fitted with off-road tires and suspension and automatic weapons, grenade launchers, etc.

originally posted by: jtrenthacker

originally posted by: intrptr

Hah ha, guy in fatigues narrating the sooo helpful robot tasks, taking out the garbage, turning the page of a magazine...

don't show them in their actual environment, as literal dogs of war.

Agreed. I can picture it fitted with off-road tires and suspension and automatic weapons, grenade launchers, etc.

Columns of armored infantry DARPA soldiers surrounded by swarms of dogs and over head drones, charging into some future conflict...

all the pieces appear complete, they just need to mobilize them into unified blitzkrieg and send them in harms way Maybe they are doing it already. How do you tell anymore who's the human and who's the robot?

Check out the movie, " the Machine", on YouTube. Awesome movie in regards to robot apocalypse. Leaves you wanting more.

a reply to: intrptr

It's so creepy, yet so fascinating to me. I love it when there are new advances in robotics but I can't help thinking we are getting closer to it all going bad.

a reply to: jtrenthacker

With the capabilities of our current day machining equipment, and 3d printing, along with CGI, you could imagine it's far greater than we are led to believe.

Wonder if there will be much outrage when these are used to police us.

a reply to: jtrenthacker

I think, "I Robot", is coming to a town near you. When the gov. thinks it's lost too much control, including it's own military.

originally posted by: Lysergic
Wonder if there will be much outrage when these are used to police us.

I'm not sure they will ever be used for normal police patrols and interactions but I could see them being used in very hostile environments. For example, send a few into a cartel stronghold, bomb disposal, prisons, firefighting, riots, etc.

I'm slightly scared for Humanity now... That robot moves faster, and better then any human. I didn't realize we were this advanced, here I was thinking "well cosmo robot is puny" but this thing????? Is ready for war!!!!!!!

Robot man walking robot dog was really cool to see

originally posted by: Bankaikiller
I'm slightly scared for Humanity now... That robot moves faster, and better then any human. I didn't realize we were this advanced, here I was thinking "well cosmo robot is puny" but this thing????? Is ready for war!!!!!!!

Have you seen the Cheetah and Wildcat robots?



Those projects are from a couple years ago. Who knows where they are at now with them. That brings up another point. These are just the projects they are showing to the public. Can you imagine what they haven't shown to the public?

originally posted by: jtrenthacker

originally posted by: Bankaikiller
I'm slightly scared for Humanity now... That robot moves faster, and better then any human. I didn't realize we were this advanced, here I was thinking "well cosmo robot is puny" but this thing????? Is ready for war!!!!!!!

Have you seen the Cheetah and Wildcat robots?

Those projects are from a couple years ago. Who knows where they are at now with them. That brings up another point. These are just the projects they are showing to the public. Can you imagine what they haven't shown to the public?

Yeah I hope these guys have kill switches hard coded into the source like eric did at google for all Android.

a reply to: jtrenthacker

Those projects are from a couple years ago. Who knows where they are at now with them. That brings up another point. These are just the projects they are showing to the public. Can you imagine what they haven't shown to the public?

Exactly what I was getting at. Horrifying!