A robotics firm has unveiled footage of a dog-inspired robot that can open doors, which has left many pondering scenes of a sci-fi apocalypse rather than a man’s best friend.
Boston Dynamics revealed the “terrifying” video showcasing SpotMini, a robot with four legs, a body, and an extendable claw as a head, on Monday, Feb.12.
In the video, called “Hey Buddy, Can You Give Me a Hand” a robot walks up to a lab door, then its fellow robodog steps in to help, using its mechanical pincer-like head to pull the handle and open the door.
It hasn’t been detailed exactly what the cyberdog will be used for, but footage of the doglike machine has been shared thousands of times on social media. Many fear the canine-inspired droids bring humankind one step closer to a dystopian society.
Boston Dynamics is owned by Japan’s Softbank after it was sold by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, last year. The company says on its website that the robot “comfortably fits in an office or home” and can handle objects and climbs stairs.
It weighs around 55 or 65 pounds.
Guardian columnist Owen Jones tweeted the video with the caption, “OK so we’re all going to die.”
Alan White, editor at BuzzFeed UK wrote: “This is one of the most terrifying things I’ve seen in all my life”
https://twitter.com/therealelp/status/963184789854605313
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In November, Boston Dynamics posted a video of its new robot “Atlas,” a humanoid robot that can do somersaults.
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