Boston Dynamics' Robot Went From a Drunk Baby To a Nimble Ninja in a Matter of Years (qz.com)

In a new video from robotics company Boston Dynamics, which Alphabet sold to SoftBank last year, a robot is shown hopping over a log and then up a series of blocks, an activity called parkour. From a report: In previous videos, the robot did a backflip -- now it's leaping over obstacles and climbing up large, uneven stairs with fleet-footed ease. But Atlas wasn't always so graceful. In some of the first videos where Boston Dynamics' robots could walk upright, way back in 2015, Atlas lumbered through the woods, looking like it was narrowly avoiding falling with each step, rather than moving with any kind of purpose.

Comments

Come on - that is not Ninja (or parkour)

[SuperKendall]

If you watch the video it hops over a log, then jumps up a few fairly tall boxes.

While this is technically impressive, it's a long way from Ninja or parkour. It didn't jump ON the log and balance - just over. Nor did it do anything complex like jump against the side of one of the boxes and land flat, maybe after rolling... you didn't even see it jump down from the highest box and do a roll landing on the floor. So basically, not at all what anyone would call parkour...

I wish people would stop over-dramatizing what are real technical feats but end up looking lame after the buildup.

Re:Come on - that is not Ninja (or parkour)

[forkfail]

I wish people would stop building things that are going to wind up being used to control or kill us all.

Re:Come on - that is not Ninja (or parkour)

[rmdingler]

I wish people would stop building things that are going to wind up being used to control or kill us all.

Depressingly unlikely. At first, they will be heralded as important for dirty jobs no human wants to do: rescue operations in hazardous conditions like natural disasters or nuclear malfunctions.

Once the battery/power problem is solved, these machines will be misused... it's a facet of human nature.

Re:Come on - that is not Ninja (or parkour)

[Narcocide]

It's definitely coming for that lab assistant who kept knocking it over with the ball first.

Re: Come on - that is not Ninja (or parkour)

[SuperKendall]

You say that in jest but a fleet or robots that could collect corpses are Everest would actually be pretty useful since there are quite a lot up there that no-one can get down. Or heck even just trash collector robots for Everest would be useful.

Just wait until it is chasing you down dark alleys

[alternative_right]

The future of American policing will be robots that follow suspects until they can be identified.

In the future, you will face robots moving at 30 mph through pedestrian traffic to tail you on foot.

They will listen in to all conversation for politically incorrect thought.

They may even sniff out illicit substances and chase down the users.

Is this "freedom"? We'd better get our act together before then.

Exactly

[SuperKendall]

It also didn't flip out and kill people, so there's that.

See? Not Ninja.

Strobe

[bill_mcgonigle]

Elon says their goal is to be fast enough so that a human can only see their motion clearly with the use of a flash strobe. It's very likely that he knows the right people to be able to say this with some certainty, but the trajectory is rapidly in that direction regardless.

Now, then, arm them with blades, guns, and autonomous AI.

When protesters get a little too forceful, just send out the 'ninjas'. Congress doesn't really have to worry about what laws it passes any more.

https://www.stopkillerrobots.o...