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| Spinning Lidar? |
Well I just came across Unitree Robotics' latest robot dog. They've tweaked the design by adding what looks to be a spinning Lidar sensor to the front. This offering also seems to have greater mobility and position control. I haven't delved into all the specifics yet so I'll have to take some time to learn more about it, but for now, let's enjoy the video! lol.
Let me know what you think about the updated design and how it might influence all the other robot dog manufactures..
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| Lite3 from DeepRobotics |
Let me just say this, I'm not so fond of the "face" on this new robot dog/quadruped. It looks a bit too cartoonish for my taste as a mechanical designer, but I'm head over heels at this robot's ability to leap forward. That looks to be a very useful maneuver as these types of robots become more common place and have to navigate in the real world. It's crazy to see just how far quadruped robots have come since Sony released the first Aibo. Check out the video from DeepRobotics and let me know what you think in the comments below. Is it too cartoonish? Does it remind you of a bot from Megaman?
I do believe that technology is inching closer and closer to the true melding of man and machine. I imagine a time where we will be able to intertwine the best of both worlds (for better or for worse). My utmost hope is a prosthetic that truly returns sensation and function will be achieved in my life time. Take a look at this encouraging video from 60 Minutes. We're almost there!
Well I was not able to attend this years Promat 2023(a premiere manufacturing/supply-chain exhibition show), but I did stumble across some convention floor footage provided by Robot Advisors on YouTube. It just so happens that in this video they stopped by a very familiar company's booth, Vanderlande. It's great to see the product/solutions on display. One big highlight from the video is from a company called Phantom Auto. They provide a solution that allows fork truck drivers to remotely pilot material handling equipment. The real benefit here is by using a remote control setup it opens the doors for those under represented in the workforce such as people with physical disabilities. I'm excited to see more from this vendor. Check out the video below.
Just when people were getting the hang of making 3d printed robot dogs at home, here comes a new addition on the design, a spine. Check out this video that runs through a simulation of a Quadruped with an active spine and then shows the real-world robot in action.
It's been a long time since I thought about RoboCup. For those of you not familiar, RoboCup is an organization with the goal of having humans to compete against robots in a game of soccer by 2050. After looking at this newly released video of UCLA's ARTEMIS robot, I'd say we are getting there. I've been a fan of the RoboCup events since the beginning and have had the opportunity to attend some. It's amazing to see all the teams with their different approaches to building a robot to play soccer against humans. There used to be only one or two major players in the humanoid bi-pedal robot space, but now we have a plethora. I'm glad to see UCLA making strides in their development. Leave and comment and check out the video below.
As humanity continues to barrel down this path of creating a robotic future, I can't help but to wonder how soon will calamity come? I think back to a movie, The Animatrix, where there were autonomous robots that worked and operated among us. Then one day, a robot killed a human in defense of itself which set off a political and social firestorm. This lead to violence against robots, with the robots ultimately winning the war against humans. Although, this scenario is more than likely a ways out, I can imagine how a scenario like this might play out in the near future. Autonomous robots are working along side of humans in warehouse distribution centers with both the humans and robots under harsh working conditions. The robot, powered by a ChatGPT like engine, makes a decision that inadvertently causes the death of a worker. This causes protests against the use of humanoid robots alongside people in warehousing. Large companies use political pressure to try and squash the backlash because they want the "profit margins" gained by using autonomous humanoid robots to do the laborious warehousing work. Protests ensue, with robots in these distribution centers being destroyed by humans. Law enforcement, equipped with their own semi-autonomous robots, are then routinely deployed against these protest and so it begins. Ultimately, it won't be the robots themselves that want to conduct violence against humans, but the "owners" of those robots that have a vested interest in their labor to drive "profits". It seems that no matter how much we raise the alarm and say that we want to prevent such things, we as humans, are incentivized to pursue mankind's own destruction.
