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Boston Dynamics robot can now open doors

By T.K. Randall
February 13, 2018 · Comment icon 16 comments

Best to keep your doors locked when this thing is around. Image Credit: YouTube / Boston Dynamics
The firm's dog-like SpotMini robot is now able to use its robotic arm to turn handles and hold doors open.
The latest version of the robot, which was revealed back in November, has now received another upgrade enabling it to perform a common task that most of us take for granted.

In a new video released this week, a SpotMini with a robotic arm can be seen not only turning the handle and opening a door but also holding it open for another robot to walk through.

The process may seem trivial, but to program a robot to not only recognize what a door is but to also physically manipulate the handle, open the door and then walk through it is really quite impressive.

Exactly what Boston Dynamics intends to do with these robots however remains unclear.



Source: Tech Radar | Comments (16)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #7 Posted by ouija ouija 6 years ago
Surely it hasn't learned to open the door but has been programmed to do so?
Comment icon #8 Posted by paperdyer 6 years ago
If the "dog" is ever given an A-I I guess we'll eventually find out programmed or learned.  The real dog is still ahead.  I wouldn't want one of those bots on my lap wanted to cuddle and be rubbed. My daughter's Husky thinks he's a lap dog and he's heavy enough.
Comment icon #9 Posted by seeder 6 years ago
  In time it will do more than any dog I expect.... this thing isnt being developed as a toy
Comment icon #10 Posted by Hammerclaw 6 years ago
Damn Synths.
Comment icon #11 Posted by seeder 6 years ago
  took a while to open that door eh?  The robot did it first go
Comment icon #12 Posted by BorizBadinov 6 years ago
These robots aren't really thinking robots as in they don't contemplate the meaning of why they do something and learn from it. They do learn, in that when they find a method they will repeat it. Most of the actions like recovering on ice are using input from sensors in the legs and body of the beast to tell it which legs are slipping and tip sensors which record inertia in a direction. It also has gyros to help it balance and a host of microprocessors to interpret the data and make corrections. It doesn't have to think omg I am going to fall because it doesn't fear falling like we would, but ... [More]
Comment icon #13 Posted by ouija ouija 6 years ago
@ BorizBadinov: Thank you for that ^ ^ , it was very interesting and informative.
Comment icon #14 Posted by LV-426 6 years ago
To be honest, I'm not sure what the angle is with this telegraph article. It uses pretty bizarre language, such as "certain to draw parallels to man's worst nightmare" and "thousands sharing the "terrifying" clip." It's just technology with a mutitude of beneficial applications at this stage. Sure, AI is something that may require moral and ethical scrutiny if it ever gets anywhere close to actual intelligence, but in its current form it's simply an advanced tool. Take the technology we already have, such as the Mars Rover - I'm sure there's a dog-related pun in there somewhere  - and add thi... [More]
Comment icon #15 Posted by DirtyDocMartens 6 years ago
Terminator meets Jurassic Park. It's slightly terrifying.
Comment icon #16 Posted by Sir Smoke aLot 6 years ago
Nice but it is too big hence it's easy  My dog did it when he was 8 or 9 months old... He even had to jump for it hehe


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