Firstly, it's totally awesome of course. And they seem to be solving really hard problems. I am just dubious that trying to build a single robot that does everything a human can, is the right approach.
Can we get something that does my washing and returns a pile of folded laundry?
How about a car washing robot that's basically an long arm on wheels?
my intuition is that niche applications are going to be easier to fill and less challenging. Is my intuition directionally right?
It's less about being able to do everything a human can, and more about being able to exist in spaces that were meant for humans. The vast, vast majority of settings were built operating under the assumption that a 5-7 ft biped with a similar armspan and effective hands would be using it. If you can make a robot that fits that description, the replacement story is a lot better.
Yeah but this is a niche military application at best. Something like "carry extra ammo for the patrol out on patrol". And the range of terrains it will need to autonomously handle is huge, and not foul up, or make a noise, and take cover when necessary. I mean an Infantry fighting vehicle can carry more, provide transport and protection and probably manage a wider range of terrain, and is only slightly more noticeable !
This to me seems like a very cool piece of engineering looking for a problem to solve.
I think civilian applications are likely to vastly outweigh military.
The title part of "it just seems to work" is an editorialization not found in the source material. It is my recollection that Boston Dynamics has been open about these demos being highly choreographed and programmed. This is one behind the scenes video that I have seen before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EezdinoG4mk
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[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 25.2 ms ] threadFirstly, it's totally awesome of course. And they seem to be solving really hard problems. I am just dubious that trying to build a single robot that does everything a human can, is the right approach.
Can we get something that does my washing and returns a pile of folded laundry? How about a car washing robot that's basically an long arm on wheels?
my intuition is that niche applications are going to be easier to fill and less challenging. Is my intuition directionally right?
This to me seems like a very cool piece of engineering looking for a problem to solve.
I think civilian applications are likely to vastly outweigh military.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1_QhJ1EhQ