Actually, this is an early build of what was known as ATLAS, built by Boston Dynamics and DARPA (the latter also being responsible for development of the Internet!). The purpose was to continue the evolution of self-balancing and increasing the advancement of robots, and it has most recently evolved into what is affectionately yet creepily known as Petman. You can find much more information about Petman at this link, but to give you an idea, it can do some advanced calisthenics and even change its body temperature in response to outside stimulus.
DARPA also developed another well-known, self-balancing robot to assist soldiers in the field known as Big Dog. It has an incredible ability to regainits balance after being impacted or even losing its balance on ice. If you thought the previous video was impressive, Big Dog will knock you out. Video of its capabilities is below.
If that's enough, you can always go see Pacific Rim! Those robots are apparently piloted by humans and not autonomous, but I'm still hoping we get them soon.
It is amazing how technology has advance throughout the years and how bright the future looks for technology. After reading the blog and seeing that they able to walk and regain balance is truly amazing and it seems that there is no limit what these robots can do. I have recently watched Pacific Rim and it reminded me of a recent documentary that I watched called “I, Cyborg.” In the movie Pacific Rim they were able to connect the human mind to the Robots to control it. Having the human brain to control robotics has already been done by Professor Kevin Warwick, who is the world's leading expert in Cybernetics. Kevin Warwick underwent surgery to put a one hundred electrode array that would connect his arm to a robotic arm. One of his experiments he sent the Robotic arm to New York City while he was in England. He then controlled the arm in England and grabbed a soda can and was able to feel the pressure he was applying to the soda can. It is amazing what he has done in his field and how he was able to connect his arm to a robotic arm. This field has a bright future and so many new opportunities.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested to read more about Professor Kevin Warwick, here is a link to see what else he has done in his field:
http://www.kevinwarwick.com/ICyborg.htm
Wow! That is very cool, and freaky, at the same time. Because of this blog I researched more inventions of robots. Though they were all interesting, the one I found to be the most was the RoboCup 2013. RoboCup gathers teams from all around the world to test their robot versus others. The categories of robots goes from software robots, to wheeled robotic platforms and sophisticated creation. This competition challenges scientist, and children as well, to keep improving to make a bigger and better robot then the year before.
ReplyDeleteIf you are more interested in this, I definitely recommend reading more about it from this website: http://www.roboticstoday.com/news/robocup-2013-let-the-games-begin/