Like Virtual Reality, robotics have come a damn long way in the past 10, or even 5 years. What was once confined to research labs and manufacturing warehouses is now becoming commonplace in all sorts of settings.
But some of the robots at the forefront of this technological advancement are so hectic, they look like something out of a science fiction movie. Heck, one of them actually is.
Here’s 4 robots that’ll give you the heebie jeebies.
This Backflipping Bastard
It’s not enough that we get robots to walk like humans, we had to go and teach them how to backflip, as well. Seriously, get a load of this bloke.
That’s Boston Dynamic‘s Atlas robot, who, as you can see, is very capable of jumping around like a fully fledged assassin. It can also jump and spin around 180 degrees, pick up and carry around all sorts of stuff, and stabilise itself should some jerk push it around.
The company have been making quirky robots for a little while now, which brings us to our next fella.
Oh hai, doggy
This is another one of Boston Dynamic’s little monsters. His name is Spot and he moves around like an actual bloody dog. Get a look at him.
Unlike robots with wheels or tracks, Spot’s four legs allow him to climb uneven terrain or recover from situations that would normally knock over or immobilise others.
Given the way old mate gets around, he’ll come in handy for search and rescue missions, particularly when folks are trapped somewhere that’s especially dangerous to humans.
Legs McGee
Ok, that’s not its real name, but it bloody should be. Get a load of these gams.
Meet Cassie, a bipedal robot created by Oregon State University‘s engineering team. She doesn’t really serve any practical purpose, but is a huge step forward in terms of walking robots.
While the act of walking, to us meat bags, is a simple and mundane task, it’s actually incredibly difficult to replicate in robotics. There’s so much more that goes into it, particularly when you consider our sense of balance.
Cassie’s future applications will probably be a lot like Spot’s – being sent into dicey places that are dangerous for humans.
BB-8, the rolly boy
Be honest, when you saw BB-8 in Star Wars for the first time, you thought, “how in the heck does its body connect to its head?” That’s exactly what I thought.
Surprisingly, the technology actually checks out, so it’s not just science fiction mumbo jumbo. In fact, he’s 100 percent a real robot, not CGI magic.
BB-8 was made by a company called Sphero and, in very basic terms, operates like a robotic hamster ball. There’s a robot inside that’s weighted towards the bottom with wheels that spin the outer ball, causing it to move. But what about his floating head?
Well think of that same robot a little bit like a Segway and how that moves. Now place a giant ball around it and at the handlebars, place some strong magnets and a few ballbearings. The magnets keep the head in place and the ballbearings allow the outer ball to move freely over them.
You can suss out some more details in the video below.
And if you’re a massive Star Wars fan, you can now build and repair Star Wars droids for real with the Star Wars VR Experience until Feb 1st, in a partnership exclusive only to Samsung stores. More details on that in the link below.
So there you have it, folks, robots just seem to be getting gnarlier every day. I wonder how long it’ll be before we get a backflipping BB-8.
