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 youll 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, Handles 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 ...
“Was survived by” in an epitaph; is that an example of passive voice?
Yeah, I always wondered about people in graveyards who left survivors.
They weren’t good at it, were they?
I was emphasizing the passive attribute.
Graveyards are edifying. What do you surmise about a tombstone engraved with a birth date in the eighteen hundreds, but no date of death?
Yes.
He got a little ahead of himself.
You sound like Tom the Son!
I can relate to that!
I miss going to the Games. Igor was avid, but with a last name of Duncan, one would expect it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
GET PLASTERED YOU BAD GIRL!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
*sang very loudly and with gusto*
SQUEE!
I’m almost ready to head for Walmart, though I feel very tired this morning. I ended up setting the thermostat one degree higher to see if I could cut down on the times it cycled, thereby cutting down the cigarette smells. I’m so very tired of that. It’s the only good thing about winter here — I don’t run the furnace, so I don’t have to smell it.
At least I didn’t wake up gasping for breath several times during the night.
How long does Webelos Camp last?
Thank you, thank you. OldTax-lady called me at 0600 to sing to me. She gets up very early, like you, only in Eastern time.
Today is my last day for Webelos camp. It runs Thursday night to Sunday noon, but the program activities like shooting and boating are only on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the time they do camp-y things.
I will have to go back to Wally’s at 0700 because the floors were being stripped and waxed where the filters are, and I was told that they wouldn’t be ready for human feet until “ohhh...maybe sevenish...”
Interesting place that. Dwayne is off so the usual cart orgy in the parking lots is in full swing. I bring one in and don’t take it out. If I take it out, I take it back in. I’ve been on “cart runs” and I don’t like to do it.
Did the Mail Bunny bring you a BD Cod?
Interesting!
I’m familiar with many Kzin tales. Those are not them.
No misspellings in this post.
That would mean they’re still out there trying to make certain there are no “survived by” claimants.
Hmm.
Uh oh.
LoL, amateurs .
Never leave survivors.
Happy Birthday TC.
Hope you have a celebratory type day. :)
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