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The latest version of the LittleDog robot
- sjsivak 16y agoIs it just me or does that thing look like a headcrab: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Headcrab.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Headcrab.jpg
- DeusExMachina 16y agoNext advancements of this technology: - running - jumping - seek and destroy
- WWZJD 16y agoSomeone's been watching too much BSG...
- nostromo 16y agoI like how they end the video with the perspective of what it will look like when you're being chased by one of these guys.
- chaosmachine 16y agoIndeed. Imagine an 8 foot tall version coming at you. Tanks of the future?
- DeusExMachina 16y agoImmagine they are not controlled by humans. Even more scary.
- melling 16y agoImagine if they could efficiently vacuum your floor and mow your lawn. We're still a long way from robot world domination.
- nostromo 16y agoThe "funny" thing is that it's probably easier to make a robot-killer than a robot that will cook me a variety of healthy meals.
- rsheridan6 16y agoYeah, after you have motion down, you would just need to be able to detect a heat signature and shoot at it. I doubt that's very difficult compared to what they've already done.
- DeusExMachina 16y agoThere are already robots for that. Not so fancy, but they somewhat work. I wasn't speaking about "robot world domination". That implies intelligent machines and this is not. But it looks like this one is pretty efficient in recognizing obstacles, and shapes. Once they can recognize targets, humans just need to deploy them and they will be much more efficient, without the need of human pilots. And they can come in different sizes and shapes. I find it quite scary, and the DARPA logo at the end of the movie does not help.
- vitobcn 16y agoI find amazing how difficult it is to successfully perform apparently trivial tasks such as walking. There's more information about the 'LittleDog' on the Boston Dynamics website: http://www.bostondynamics.com/ http://www.bostondynamics.com/ I was really impressed 2 years ago by their video of the 'BigDog': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww (check out t=40s)
- pohl 16y agoYes, the way it recovered from that kick is incredible. And, if you'll forgive me, here's one additional link for anyone who hadn't yet heard of Big Dog. (Unlikely, I know...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJZVZFRFJc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJZVZFRFJc
- po 16y agoIf you saw the original Boston Dynamics BigDog Youtube video, should check out the version that researchers here in tokyo have come up with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5BPrlOVX2o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5BPrlOVX2o
- njharman 16y agoI find it amazing HN readers believe walking is a trivial task.
- tel 16y agoAnyone with some robotics experience able to explain more about the floating base inverse dynamics control system and what sort of accommodations make it so much more powerful than PD?
- kd5bjo 16y agoI don't know too many specifics, but it looks like their PD example was controlling the joint position. That means that if the ground isn't where the robot expects it to be, the leg will still assume the same position and cause the robot to fall over. The dynamic force control system is, instead of controlling the leg position, controlling the amount of force that the leg is exerting on the ground. This means that the leg may end up in a different position than the walking controller intended, but the overall effect on the main body should be similar to what was expected.
- mooneater 16y agoIts been said before, but needs to be repeated every time: The implications of this line of R&D are horrific. Removing the risk of say, US soldier casualties, combined with media control, and with "merely" the current level of inhumanity of political leadership, would be a very ugly mix indeed. So yeah, its hard for me to get excited about the tech in this case.
- abstractbill 16y agoI know I probably should be worried about this kind of technology, but I just can't help it - I see this and I'm excited like a little kid again. I want one of these :)
- melling 16y agoUntil we devise a system where consumer products, or government grants, drive more research like this, the military war machine is necessary for this type of funding. Most public company's with deep pockets live quarter to quarter. Gotta beat those earnings estimates, by a lot.
- motters 16y agoThey're only horrific if they're misused. Robots like this will also have plenty of non-military applications - especially in agriculture. Legged locomotion opens up the possibility of cultivating land which was previously inaccessible to conventional farming automation. It should also be said that there is nothing inevitable about the close association between robotics and the military - it's just an artefact of American culture and the idiosyncratic way in which high tech research gets funded in America.
- StrawberryFrog 16y agoThey're only horrific if they're misused. Given that this whole line of research is funded by the US military, what do you mean by "misused" ? Wouldn't "used" be more accurate?
- motters 16y ago
- BoppreH 16y agoVery impressive. Sci-fi stuff. I just found the big stair demo cheap. That "jumping" behavior looked hard-coded (and it was implied by the narrator) and seemed to possibly damage the robot. Still impressive, but a lot less so than the other demonstrations.
- staunch 16y agoWhy can't it move 10x or 100x faster? Is speed constrained by computation or something else?
- pkulak 16y agoI'd think the physics would change dramatically. It's probably a brand new problem to have it work at higher speeds.
- modeless 16y agoPertinent facts from one of their papers: http://www-clmc.usc.edu/publications/K/kalakrishnan-IROS2009.pdf http://www-clmc.usc.edu/publications/K/kalakrishnan-IROS2009... The robot drives its motors at 400 Hz based on control signals coming in at 100 Hz from an external computer. 100 Hz is probably the limit of the sensing system they're using, which is a motion capture system external to the robot. (Notice the reflective marker balls on top of the robot and also on the terrain.) My guess is that's the limiting factor here, though supporting a higher rate would probably also require faster software, and I have no idea what the limb speed/precision limits of the robot are.
- Deestan 16y agoI think the proverb "you have to learn to walk before you can learn to run" applies quite literally here.
- mad44 16y agoThat is only a matter of time. Then we will have the "rat thing" from Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. It was scary to watch the video.
- thefool 16y agohonestly this is just frightening.
- jasonostrander 16y agoI personally find unseen UAV's raining missiles down on our heads to be much more terrifying. I'm actually quite excited about this tech. The first thing I thought when I saw this video was one of these things walking on the surface of Mars.
- frederickcook 16y agoAgreed re: the UAV comment. Imagine a world where big brother is watching everything you do, and can kill you from the other side of the world with the press of a button, with absolutely no warning, with no way for you to defend yourself, and no way to attempt to explain your actions to someone. A walking robot is much less terrifying. The first thing I thought was that countries such as Cambodia could one day exist without landmines.
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- modeless 16y agoThis is a research platform, not a consumer product! We'll learn to walk first, and then we'll make it look pretty.
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- m0tive 16y agoI'd say an ugly robot that stays upright and does the job is better than a nice looking robot on its side...
- iamwil 16y agowalk before you can run. run before you can fly.
- Retric 16y agoWhen it comes to robots it's roll, fly, walk, and then run.
- sbarre 16y agoI want one of these to walk my dog at 6am on Sunday when it's raining.
- moultano 16y agoThe most effective thing to get me off my ass and studying is to see something I should conceivably be able to create, but have no idea where I'd begin. Can someone link to a good introduction to how the control systems for something like this work?
- ique 16y agoYou should take in a couple of lectures of the "Introduction to Robotics" class on iTunes U. http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Feed/itunes.stanford.edu.1614970099.01614970102 http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Feed/itunes.sta...
- cianestro 16y agoSo inspiring. Reminds me of the Disney movie "The Brave Little Toaster": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbBEfZ8fK9Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbBEfZ8fK9Y