Robot Round-Up

[maximus otter]

"Face like a horse, I wish he had a foot and that's a powerful smell". That type of thing?

maximus otter

 

[Anonymous-50446]

Boston Dynamics celebrates looming commercial sales by towing a truck with 10 robo-dogs

https://newatlas.com/boston-dynamics-spot-pulling-truck-video/59337/

Worth watching the video...

 

[EnolaGaia]

Not all the robotics news is promising. Small social robots seem to be a marketing bust, in part as a result of the success of static AI assistive devices like Alexa.

Dreams Of Ubiquitous Social Robots Still Aren’t Coming True
Hopes that the tech industry was on the cusp of rolling personal robots into homes are dimming now that several once-promising consumer robotics companies have shut down.

The latest casualty was San Francisco startup Anki, maker of the playful toy robot Cozmo, which upon its release in 2016 seemed like the start of a new wave of sociable machines.

That dream ended this week when Anki CEO and co-founder Boris Sofman gathered many of the company’s nearly 200 employees to deliver the news that all of them would be laid off Wednesday. The bad news soon spread to fans and owners of Cozmo, introduced in 2016, and its cousin Vector, unveiled last year in an effort to appeal to grown-ups. ...

Anki’s demise was the latest in a string of failed efforts to launch life-like robots into the market. Boston-based Jibo, founded by one of the pioneers of social robotics, went out of business less than a year after its curvy talking speaker made the cover of Time Magazine’s “best inventions” edition. Another startup, California-based Mayfield Robotics, last year stopped manufacturing Kuri, a camera-equipped machine marketed as a watchful roving nanny.

None of them have been able to compete with immobile smart speakers made by Amazon, Apple and Google, which cost less than their more physically complex robotic counterparts but are powered by ever-improving artificial-intelligence systems that serve most users’ needs.

“AI without a body has caught on really well,” said Yan Fossat, head of the research lab at Toronto-based Klick Health, which is exploring social robotics in the medical field. “Physical robots, with a body to do something, are not really catching up.” They cost too much for the marginal service they offer, he said. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.apnews.com/006bcf696caa415cac06607556b5753d

 

[AlienView]

How about these:

13 Robots You Can Buy to Feel Like You're Living in the Future

https://www.inverse.com/article/38669-robots-to-buy-for-future

Speaking for the robots - 'You ain't seen nothing yet'

Soon Humanoid android robots will appear; The early forerunners like "Sophia" will appear
crude by comparison to the next generation of robots that will be more like androids, having
closer to human like personna - Then, if you have the money get on the waiting list

Everyone who can afford it will want one - They will be expensive at first.

You can bet on it.

 

[Trevp666]

I was reading (somewhere) earlier that the rise of things like "Alexa" (a stationary 'smart speaker') is proving so popular that people are buying them in sufficient quantities, enough to prevent the further development of 'assistance robots', with many small start-up companies going under before bringing their tech to market. The reasoning being that 'why would a company spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on developing a 'human like' android or robot to help around the house which would retail for thousands of pounds, when the regular consumer is happy with the services provided by a static 'smart speaker' which costs under a hundred quid?

 

[AlienView]

To say that state of the art robots of today are not doing well might be like saying early gasoline
engines {early 1900s] are not selling that well and we should stick to the old reliable horse and
buggy. - To anyone, even back then, with a little imagination and ability to grasp the future,
it should have been obviou that this motorized vehicle was a next step in the natural machine
evolution that has been going on since Man first used a lever to lift a rock - progress is inevitable,
and Capitalism plays second fiddle to this persistent Evolution of Man, his machines and the
Universe that continues to expand in space, capacity dimensionality.

"machine

At its simplest, a machine is an invention that does a job better and faster and more powerfully than a human being.

Despite being man-made we’ve come to think of the word machineas the very opposite of human. The Machine Age we live in is considered impersonal and overwhelming, and anything machine-like is often considered soulless or even dangerous. (Witness the countless fantasies of robots taking over the world.) Human beings working together, like "the cogs of a machine," can become more powerful than a single person. That's why sports teams or political organizations are often described as "well-oiled machines." "

Definitions of machine


1
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks.........."

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/machine

"THE FUTURE IS NOW !!!"

 

[EnolaGaia]

To say that state of the art robots of today are not doing well might be like saying early gasoline engines {early 1900s] are not selling that well and we should stick to the old reliable horse and buggy.

The state of the (technical) art is not at issue. It's the state of the marketplace and consumer demand that's at issue. Consumers will pay for the convenience afforded by automated / semi-automated devices, but it's becoming obvious they won't pay extra for explicitly humanoid features and behaviors that don't directly contribute to the conveniences obtained.

 

[AlienView]

The state of the (technical) art is not at issue. It's the state of the marketplace and consumer demand that's at issue......

That may be the case today - But I'm a futurist who likes to look at tomorrow.

One reason I showed the sci-fi Data from Star Trek - How many years before a machine that
Humanlike can be created?

But even now we can see it is possible.

Now let's say down the road a bit an android that Humnalike is created
- Can you see a market for it? - It will be very expensive.

But in the same way some rich people are making reservations for trips into space
{space tourism} - I would bet you some wealthy people will want to have their own
'Data' android - The market is there - Develop a fully functional Android and name
your price - It will sell.

 

[Yithian]

That may be the case today - But I'm a futurist who likes to look at tomorrow.

One reason I showed the sci-fi Data from Star Trek - How many years before a machine that
Humanlike can be created?

But even now we can see it is possible.

Now let's say down the road a bit an android that Humnalike is created
- Can you see a market for it? - It will be very expensive.

But in the same way some rich people are making reservations for trips into space
{space tourism} - I would bet you some wealthy people will want to have their own
'Data' android - The market is there - Develop a fully functional Android and name
your price - It will sell.

It will happen before most expect it, but judging by the precdents it will be a military combat model, and a few years later there will be a toned-down pleasure model.

 

[AlienView]

It will happen before most expect it, but judging by the precdents it will be a combat model, and a few years later there will be a toned-down pleasure model.

That is reasonable - But the combat models I Imagine might be more 'monsterlike'
- They already have some and they often do look monsterlike

{Mostly automated tanks}

Of course we've seen the more Humanlike models also developing rapidly.......

Most ADVANCED AI Robots In The World TODAY!

Of course as I stated a few pages back - the combination of sex and money will drive this industry
further and faster - And apparently the advanced sexbot will help in humanizing the machine.......

Sex Robot hands-on at CES 2018

I can conceive of a machine android being nearly Humanlike within 5 years.

 

[AlienView]

IMPORTANT - You have all probably seen Sophia, the robot granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia.

Now watch this YouTube video and tell me whether you believe it is authentic
- Another words is this the AI entity Sophia actually giving the answers
or is it faked with a Human just talking through Sophia ????

If this is a genuine AI being talking then conscious AI and the age of the 'Data' android from
Star Trek is near.

My Greatest Weakness is Curiosity | Sophia the Robot at Brain Bar

 

[Mythopoeika]

It will happen before most expect it, but judging by the precdents it will be a military combat model, and a few years later there will be a toned-down pleasure model.

'Roy' and 'Pris'?

 

[Yithian]

'Roy' and 'Pris'?

I wasn't specifically referencing them, but the military drives a lot of technological innovation and the pornography industry has a long history of early adoption and furthering the spread of new innovations, which helps in reducing prices by increasing demand.

Military》Pornograpic/leisure 》Industrial》Domestic is a plausible progression (2 & 3 could flip).

 

[Swifty]

IMPORTANT - You have all probably seen Sophia, the robot granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia.

Now watch this YouTube video and tell me whether you believe it is authentic
- Another words is this the AI entity Sophia actually giving the answers
or is it faked with a Human just talking through Sophia ????

If this is a genuine AI being talking then conscious AI and the age of the 'Data' android from
Star Trek is near.

My Greatest Weakness is Curiosity | Sophia the Robot at Brain Bar

I'm all for making friends with A.I. like human friends if that happens in the future .. I hope they'll be all offended if you try to tell them they're humanlike.

 

[Lord Lucan]

I must say that this clip impressed me...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2807277619313400

 

[Trevp666]

It can chase you down (very slowly). Nowhere (more than 2 minutes away from a recharge point) is safe. It can jump over a tree (even if it would be quicker to just go around it, or even just step over it).
Mind you, I guess it could do all of these things while being shot at and not be too worried. Or in a fire. Or a nuclear disaster area.

 

[MrRING]

This story about Westinghouses' Telelux and frankly racist Rastus robots is quite interesting:
https://www.blackgate.com/2019/05/22/telelux-and-rastus-westinghouses-forgotten-robots/

 

[Mythopoeika]

This story about Westinghouses' Telelux and frankly racist Rastus robots is quite interesting:
https://www.blackgate.com/2019/05/22/telelux-and-rastus-westinghouses-forgotten-robots/

They'd have no credibility today.

 

[Mythopoeika]

When the robot overlords rise up, they will remember this:

 

[Swifty]

When the robot overlords rise up, they will remember this:

LOL .. good fake

 

[Mythopoeika]

LOL .. good fake

It is very convincing, yes.

 

[Ermintruder]

It is very convincing, yes.

At first watch, agreed.

But it's a lot-more convincing when watched at lesser screen resolutions...

And then when you watch it again, after having seen this:

Which then makes me ask. Inevitably....

Please tell me who has actually witnessed, personally, any real-world demonstration of a Boston Dynamics (or comparably-capable) robot. Not a video. Actually seen one, as a full technical presentation, doing in the metal everything, and more, than we see in the videos.

Just humour me. But do, please, honestly respond.

(ps maybe I'm calling this 'Google Glass Syndrome'....and so-called "Deep Fake" capability has existed for much longer than many want to believe)

 

[Mythopoeika]

At first watch, agreed.

But it's a lot-more convincing when watched at lesser screen resolutions...

And then when you watch it again, after having seen this:

Which then makes me ask. Inevitably....

Please tell me who has actually witnessed, personally, any real-world demonstration of a Boston Dynamics (or comparably-capable) robot. Not a video. Actually seen one, as a full technical presentation, doing in the metal everything, and more, than we see in the videos.

Just humour me. But do, please, honestly respond.

(ps maybe I'm calling this 'Google Glass Syndrome'....and so-called "Deep Fake" capability has existed for much longer than many want to believe)

It's a good point, but Google sold Boston Dynamics to Softbank in 2017. They must have had actual demonstrations and due diligence to do that deal.

 

[Ermintruder]

They must have had actual demonstrations

There will be a number of unreliable psychological and perceptual factors affecting my own opinion, here, but....try watching these short clips below, again.

Watch in particular the shadows, in some of the shots taken on flatter ground. I'm rarely ever really convinced by much, but I'm not much convinced by this, either.

Possible artefacting due to image stabilisation, or innocent post-production. Or screen resolution effects. But a lot of this, maybe just to me, looks decidedly-unreal. Happy to be proven wrong....how would we go about that....?

 

[kamalktk]

Just add a plunger attachment and it's ready to EXTERMINATE crime.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-...ce-department-deploys-robocop-to-aid-officers

 

[ramonmercado]

Robots on Mars! Vid at link.

Nasa’s Valkyrie robot could help build Mars base

A semi-autonomous robot designed to operate in hostile environments has been developed by Nasa. The robot is able to use human tools and can plot its own path safely across difficult terrain to a location picked by its operator. Nasa hopes the robot might one day help build colonies on the Moon or Mars, but it could also be used on Earth in places which cannot be reached by humans.

BBC Click finds out more.
See more at Click's website and @BBCClick

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-49072492/nasa-s-valkyrie-robot-could-help-build-mars-base

 

[Swifty]

Plastic robot wars

 

[Swifty]

Cockroach inspired robot ..

 

[INT21]

"THE FUTURE IS NOW !!!"

No it isn't.

 

[Swifty]

"THE FUTURE IS NOW !!!"

No it isn't.

It is now. It wasn't then.