Posted on 02/28/2017 7:23:43 AM PST by RoosterRedux
Google-owned robotics firm and “nightmare” factory Boston Dynamics has released video of its latest creation: a two-wheeled, four-legged hybrid robot named Handle.
The robot can stand on four legs, like Boston Dynamics’ previous creations such as BigDog and Spot. But at the end of its back two legs are two stabilised wheels, which let it stand up vertically and roll around at speeds of up to nine miles per hour. Think “Terminator riding on a hoverboard” and you’ll have a pretty good idea of the impression Handle gives off.
Boston Dynamics says the reason for the hybrid design is the simplicity it affords: rather than needing the complex joints of the fully-quadrupedal bots, Handle’s wheels can speed it around with little difficulty, while its front legs can be used for balance and for carrying loads of up to 50kg.
“Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance and mobile manipulation principles found in the quadruped and biped robots we build,” Boston Dynamics said, “but with only about 10 actuated joints, it is significantly less complex. Wheels are efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs, Handle can have the best of both worlds.” The video does not, however, show Handle walking rather that scooting around on its wheels.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Yep. In my walking days, I had a backpack (the same one I used when I went to Pakistan) and if whatever I bought was too big to fit in there, I didn’t get it.
Still, I think it will be a money saver in the long run if I only get what I can eat within a day or two.
And now, Ms. ‘Face, it’s time for bed. *yawn*
Hope you have a good night! DP and I are going out, leaving Tom in charge. There will be Rewards if all goes well, and Problems if it doesn’t.
And the following is not QUITE true, but..
When my wife cooks vs when I cook
Hopefully Tom In Charge will not be along these lines.. ;-)
Nothing bad happened with Tom in Charge, at least, not that I’ve noticed yet. Jake just showed up and informed me that both food bowls were not empty, not nearly empty, but sufficiently not-full that I’d better do something about it.
DP and I had a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant. I believe the owner was from Nepal, as there were several Nepalese dishes on the menu. I had a black lentil stew and DP had lamb. I got full and brought enough of mine home to give Bill a meal after work.
Cute cartoon. When the fire alarm goes off here, I call out, “Sounds like another sponge is ready!” like Grandmum did in “3-2-1 Penguins.”
LOOK! In before the Kitteh Ping!
Yes, NoC, that was a cute cartoon! That’s how I felt yesterday...
Well, the new phone is up and running, and I will soon go to the website and learn how to transfer the data, which shouldn’t be too difficult. I hope. The worst is over, as I figured out that I could bypass the Commands that Goober gave me so that getting the phone in working order was almost too simple.
But since yesterday was not exactly a stellar day, I’m not a bit surprised. I have the alarms set on this phone, so at least I won’t forget to take my pills, and I also won’t have to get up at 0120 any more because I was afraid I would sleep past 0400.
The original plan being to meet Zeke at 0500 at the clubhouse and give him the latest revision of the letter about the illegal voting, here. He wanted me to add a few other things that had nothing to do with the voting, and I’m not going to do it. It isn’t relevant to the situation.
Well, I WAS in before the Kitteh Ping! LOL! If I hadn’t made the post so long....
Good morning! I slept a little late, until after 5:30. Pat and Vlad are going on a hike today; they need to be at church at 6:45. Then I’ll work on cooking until 9:00 or so, then pick up Gloria, whose son is in Frank’s den, so we can go to leader training.
Busy, busy.
Yes, it sounds as though you are very busy. I guess the word “boredom” doesn’t even fit in your vocabulary, eh?
I did everything I could with the phone, but I need someone to walk me through the transfer process, so I can either wait for 0700 for someone in Cricket’s Chat Department, or I can wait until 0900 for the Cricket Store to open. I will try the chat option, first.
After that, this will be a good day, I think. And it’s time I started losing some weight, now that the stress is mostly out of my life for a while. Or at least calmed down.
Vlad is having trouble pulling himself together. I should have made them get their clothes out last night.
Lablady was that way when she was a really short person. She still likes to sleep.
Once upon a long time ago, I charted the biorhythms for the four of us, and while Igor, Hockeybughow and I were all on the same rhythm, Lablady was the exact opposite. It explained to me better than anything else why she was such a difficult child: When she was feeling good, the rest of us were in a slump and vice versa.
Once I learned that, it was easier to deal with her. Until Igor got stupid.
I’m the only one (besides Anoreth) who wakes up fully functional and alert. It probably has to do with taking care of babies for 20 years.
I’ve always been a morning person, and I think I first realized it when I was about 14 and would sit outside in the summer and wait for the dawn. It would be light out for a long time before the sun was actually over the mountains, but I liked the quiet and the cool.
I still like waiting for the sunrise. Just, no real mountains, here. :o|
No mountains here, either. However, there are lots of tweeting birds and a few catz.
It’s just starting to get light in the east. Zeke wants me to insert his latest screed and I’m not going to do it. He needs to focus on one thing at a time.
If he doesn’t like my literary decision, he can find someone else to do this. I’m not getting paid for it, anyway.
“Fire me if you don’t like it!”
I’ll be leaving in a few minutes. I’ve packed my lunch. They will give us lunch, but I’m not going to blow my points on whatever they offer: since it’s paid for, I’ll bring it home for a boy after I eat my pork-chop sandwich (5 points), apples, and carrots (zero).
DP is going to take James, Frank, and Kathleen to the gym and then to Chick-fil-A. Presently he’s cutting down the jasmine, which was collateral damage in the campaign against poison ivy in the herb garden. Tom the Mocker has nested in a holly bush in the side yard this year, which makes it less likely that his babies will fall out of the nest on a cat.
I’ve done the dishes from the stuffed peppers (I hate when the maid takes a day off) and will work on the changes Zeke made to the letter. I dunno, but somehow, I think less is better. If he’s made his point with a few words, he shouldn’t clutter it up with extraneous ideas. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I told him to take the notes he wanted me to insert and expound on them, with a lead-in about the history of inane meetings here that accomplish nothing. We’ll see what he produces.
Do you ever freeze bananas? If you peel, drizzle with citrus juice and put into freezer zip lock, they don't discolor and are great to throw into a blender. Zero points unless you add a splash of grape juice or some yogurt to liquefy. Of course, the planets must align so that the bananas and cantaloupes are on discount, but the freezing thing just leaves the cantaloupe as the wild card. (I'm really living on the edge here.) :)
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