[osiris]

http://gizmodo.com/368651/new-video-...ing-its-spooky

Boston Dynamics built this robot - it reminds me of some of the Star Wars bots, only this is real!
(no laser weapons yet, sorry)

BD had a prototype years ago, but it stumbled a bit and looked more like a drunk mule than a spider.
Enjoy.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

That's the first robot I have been impressed with. Fraking awesome.

[Big Mac]

That is pretty cool, and it does look like an AT-AT.

[olePigeon]

From some angles, it looks like two people carrying something between them.

It said it was carrying 340 lbs load. Give it a saddle, that'd be fun to ride.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

From some angles, it looks like two people carrying something between them.

It said it was carrying 340 lbs load. Give it a saddle, that'd be fun to ride.

This could be the ride of the future!
Entire cities will need to be rebuilt... (vague Segway reference)

[RAILhead]

Bloody Hades.

But, it's too noisy so I won't be buying one.

/got nothin'

[analogue SPRINKLES]

The sound the damn thing makes creeps me out.

[Eug]

The sound reminds me of a fly, which is kind of what it looks like. A giant mutant wingless robot fly ancestor.

[Teronzhul]

The sound is only present when it is not tethered, so it would appear to simply be a small gas generator to provide electricity. Certainly further refinement could provide an alternative energy source, or at the least a less annoying sounding engine.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Does it have AI (other than for balancing) or is it just a guy on a remote on the other end telling it what direction to go in?

[ajprice]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Does it have AI (other than for balancing) or is it just a guy on a remote on the other end telling it what direction to go in?

From Boston Dynamics: The Leader in Lifelike Human Simulation -

BigDog has an on-board computer that controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a wide variety of sensors. BigDog’s control system manages the dynamics of its behavior to keep it balanced, steer, navigate, and regulate energetics as conditions vary. Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a laser gyroscope, and a stereo vision system. Other sensors focus on the internal state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine temperature, rpm, battery charge and others.

From that, it can steer and navigate itself, and has some form of vision. I would guess that it has a GPS system and takes commands, rather than direct control like a big walking 'dumb' R/C car would.

It is cool and creepy at the same time though.

[richwig83]

WOW thats so cool... cant believe how much it behaves like you'd expect a deer to when it stumbles!

[mindwaves]

Most amazing robot ever.

[Railroader]

Just don't hook it up to Skynet.

[smacintush]

I wasn't all that thrilled until I saw the way it reacts when it stumbles or missteps. Creepy.

[starman]

Oh, crap

[D. S. Troyer]

Best I've evar seen! Better than those useless jap ones.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by D. S. Troyer 

Best I've evar seen! Better than those useless jap ones.

That's a polite way of saying that.

[D. S. Troyer]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

That's a polite way of saying that.

JAPanese ones. Feel better.

[ghporter]

Politeness counts, here as much as anywhere else on the planet. Rudeness, on the other hand, gets you noticed in a bad way...

Now then. The buzzing sound must be a kazillion high-torque motors running really complex gear trains. And that thing has balance! It recovered in a very "organic" way, both when the guy kicked it off balance and when it stumbled. Wow. Just wow. The defense (finding the bad guys, finding the bombs, etc.) and research (how does it keep its balance, and how may that be applied to people with neurological deficits?) is staggering...