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 ...
And with that, I’m off to get parallel to the deck. See all y’all tomorrow!
Have a good night!
It’s morning, and the squee is strong.
There’s something I need to do today, but I don’t know what it is. Oh. Yes. The printer.
Zeke is coming over at 0500 to get started on a letter to recall the current resident council, but I don’t want to be a part of this one, right now. There are other things I want to focus on.
I’m still waiting for Walgreen’s to email or text me saying my nebulizer meds are ready for pickup. I don’t understand this...
Yes, they do! I love the one of the cat racing around the rug.
Shannon has been sitting outside causing the birds to have fits. She even chased a starling!
No Offspring are up yet.
Maybe you should phone Walgreen’s.
I get faster results if I email Walgreen’s for some reason.
Zeke is here. It’s 56 degrees out, and the wind is blowing, so it’s pretty cold. He was originally going to meet on my patio, but it was too chilly.
So. He is done and gone, and I fiddled with the printer until I got it to work right, meaning I had to add all new ink. Foresight is everything.
I just realized how cluttered my place is. I need to really clean house. One day soon. ;o]
Zeke hand wrote a letter this morning, and for the first time since I’ve been deciphering his printing (which printing exposes him for an extremely angry man) I can’t seem to make much sense out of it. *sheesh*
He has mingled a couple of subsections, rather than stating them individually with his argument, and I’m very quickly reaching the saturation point on how lucid I can be. It may be that this will have to be set aside until tomorrow, when I wake up.
Walgreen’s sent me an email. Yippee! I’ll get the prescriptions in the morning. NOT going during “crowded” hours. (Thanks!)
You’re welcome. When I left for Weight Watchers at 8:45, nobody was up except Bill. Now the others are more or less mobile, and it’s almost time to feed them lunch and then start thinking about naptime.
I’ll be taking Zeke to the USPS in a bit to get a certified letter. I don’t like to give rides, but he’s probably the exception. It’s to ugly to walk, and him in shorts, and all...
It’s very nice of you to drive him! The Horde has turned up for lunch.
It was a certified letter from housing, and basically, they said Zeke had no claim and that everything was legal and aboveboard, including the fact that people were denied the right to vote for the person of their choice.
So there are already revisions to be made to this letter. I told him last week it was way past time to bring this to the attention of the media. And now, I’m REALLY looking forward to moving to St George!
Well, that’s obnoxious!
I had a nap with Jake. I’m not feeling very well today.
I hope you’re feeling better this morning! You are probably just way past the tired stage and have moved on to exhaustion. Did you get a good night’s sleep?
The squee is a cure-all!
I’ll be taking Zeke with me this morning when I go to Walgreen’s and will then take him to Walmart. I won’t have enough after the prescriptions (I think there are three, now) to get anything, but Wally’s is 1/2 mile from Walgreen’s so it’s all good.
I keep trying to think of new things for my un-salads, but about the only thing I can think of is bean sprouts. Maybe another avocado. Hmpf.
Since I installed Avira, it takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes for this thing to boot up to where I can use it. ARGH!
It rained. The storm glass has crystals once again. I had to shut the door last night because of the awful chemical smell that accompanied the cold front. The wind has died down, but it’s still only 57 degrees and mostly cloudy. It’s supposed to rain again today.
I told Charlie, yesterday, that we were going to go straight from winter to summer and no dallying with spring. He opined that spring probably didn’t want to be dallied with, anyway.
This kitten lives in the garden of the presidential palace of Malta. I assume there is plenty of vermin.
I’m feeling better today, although not because I slept well. The congestion in the right side of my head is improved, and my shoulder is not quite as painful. I’m going to have a shower shortly. Later I have my prayer group, and then I’ll go to Walmart.
I’m just waiting for Zeke to show up. If he hadn’t asked to go along, I would have been there and back by now.
I have to mail out two cards for my daughter today. She will be 50 on Saturday and is going skydiving. Not a word to me about Mother’s Day or my birthday, but that’s OK. I’ll go to church and if I have enough after I’m done this morning, I’ll go to Wendy’s for the Mother’s Day salad bar. :o])
I got cards for DP’s mother and stepmother, and he has inscribed something. I need to get them in the mail this morning, should arrive by Saturday.
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