A Google-owned subsidiary released a video of a robotic dog interacting with a real life terrier.
Boston Dynamics, a Google-owned company, captured on video a terrier facing off with a robotic dog, reported in the Discovery News. The dog, known as “Spot” was initially released early last year. Spot is a remote controlled quadruped weighing 160 pounds with sophisticated navigational sensors in its head. It can haul things nearly 40 pounds and has the coordination to get back up if knocked down.
The real terrier, “Alex,” is Android’s team mascot, owned by Android co-founder Andy Rubin who presently oversees the tech startup Playground Global. In the video, Alex is seen barking loudly, attempting to assert its dominance, but Spot has a “battle mode.” The YouTube video was posted by venture capitalist Steve Jurveston. A woman observing asks Spot’s operator to be cautious, but off camera the audience hears, “Robot takes out Andy Rubin’s dog — that would not be good.” But the operator reveals that he’s actually trying to keep the robo-dog away.
But Alex the terrier makes it out alive and by some accounts even the victor. After viewing the video, Rubin tweeted ”best board meeting ever?” Lucky Alex, because Spot is designed for military operations. This Spot is the only one operated in civilian territory. The Marine Corp tested the robotic quadruped last fall with the intent of using to haul supplies. Although it’s not autonomous, the robo-pooch is quieter than its machine contemporary, the LS3 robo-mule.
“Robots can’t get shot and they can’t die,” DARPA roboticist Ben Swilling told IGN regarding Spot’s week-long evaluation.
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