Boston Dynamics, the high-profile robotics company that Alphabet reportedly doesn’t want, has released a video of its latest robot: SpotMini. SpotMini is a 4-legged robot that weighs just 55lbs and has an all-electric locomotion system.
SpotMini is one of the quietest robot Boston Dynamics has ever built thanks to the all-electric system. In the past, the company has used gas engines and hydraulics in its robots, making for loud, outdoor-only bots that sound like dirtbikes or chainsaws. Boston Dynamics’ Alphadog was a much larger 4-legged robot, but it deemed too loud by the US Marines when they tested it as a pack mule last year.
The goal with the SpotMini seems to have been to build a robot quiet enough, small enough, and clean enough that it can be used as a house robot. It’s shown indoors walking up steps and ducking under tables. There’s even an attachable arm that lets it do useful things like fetching a soda or cleaning the dishes (well, moving a dish from the sink to the washing machine, but that’s a start!).
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Source: Ars Technica – Watch Boston Dynamics’ newest robodog fetch a soda and slip on a banana peel