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Leaked Video Shows New 'Nightmare-Inducing' Wheeled Robot From Boston Dynamics (theverge.com)
Boston Dynamics has a reputation for building robots which push the boundaries of robotics technology, although with a slightly creepy persona. Its latest robot is no different. From a report on The Verge: The company's new wheeled, upright robot is named Handle ("because it's supposed to handle objects") and looks like a cross between a Segway and the two-legged Atlas bot. Handle hasn't been officially unveiled, but was shown off by company founder Marc Raibert in a presentation to investors. Footage of the presentation was uploaded to YouTube by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson. Raibert describes Handle as an "experiment in combining wheels with legs, with a very dynamic system that is balancing itself all the time and has a lot of knowledge of how to throw its weight around." He adds that using wheels is more efficient than legs, although there's obviously a trade-off in terms of maneuvering over uneven ground. "This is the debut presentation of what I think will be a nightmare-inducing robot," says Raibert.
If you read the article and look at the video clips, you see the robot get a running start, get down into a crouch and then jump in the air just in time to clear a barrier.
In a real warehouse that would be a pretty useless capability, but it still seemed kind of cool.
It's a fucking Tachikoma
And yes, they are cute and very, very helpful