Posted on 03/18/2008 9:47:35 AM PDT by BGHater
A new video of the Army's BigDog 'bot highlights its eery abilities
Two years ago we showed you Boston Dynamics' incredible BigDogone of the world's most ambitious legged robotsbeing developed for DARPA and the U.S. Army. With its advanced system of hyper-responsive hydraulic joints and a suite of sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes, the BigDog's most stunning achievement is it's ability to walk, climb and maintain its balance on diverse terrain, even after slipping on ice or receiving a kick to one side. All while carrying several hundreds of pounds of supplies on its "back."
In this new video, we see the latest BigDog iteration taking a stroll through the woods, stomping through ice and snow, showing off a new gallop, and in one of the more amazing things you'll see today, regaining its balance autonomously after slipping on a patch of ice. The amount of real-time computation involved in something like this is staggering, and if the YouTube comments are anything to say about it ("Shoot it. SHOOT IT!"), we humans may not be quite ready to accept such lifelike behavior coming from a machine.
If and when it enters service, BigDog could support troops on the battlefield by carrying heavy cargo or evacuating the wounded. But for now, it's sticking to making online video fans' jaws drop.
Everybody needs to see this video. It’s stunning. Watching that thing move, you’d never believe it’s a machine. Its movements are fluid, organic, shockingly animal-like. It’s proof that we are indeed living in the future. :)
I downloaded a video of this about two years ago. After watching this thing go through its moves, you’ll have an uneasy feeling it is alive.
Now that’s cool!
Ping
Go to the link and watch video when you have the time.
Saw the ice video on Youtube last night. This thing has some pretty amazing real time dynamic reactions. I wonder how fast it can or will be able to run.
I realize this is a just prototype machine, but it definately needs a better muffler. It’s not powered by Honda, that’s for sure.
WOW - creepy but as an old dog Infantry grunt, I can see a LOT of battlefield uses for this!
Keep in mind, folks, this thing is blind. It might have some very basic color detection, but for the most part, everything it does it does by feel. That's why its steps, while organic, are sort of halting - it's walking the way a blindfolded human would walk, moving forward while trying to avoid any one step that would result in tripping.
will do.
Wow, that’s pretty phenomenal.
ping to awesome technology
ping!
ping for home
Wow! Once again American technology kicks booty.
But it is creepy... it blurs the barrier between animal and machine because its so damn coordinated and reactive.
And they gotta fix the muffler problem.
Wisecracks aside, I am truly in awe of what I saw in that video and am looking forward to seeing its practical applications in the near future!
wish they had these when I was a young grunt.
Incredible. Put eight legs on that thing and I’d have nightmares for months. Combat spiders from Hell...
bflv
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