Robots are Getting Better at Opening Doors

AlphaAtlas

[H]ard|Gawd
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Boston Dynamics showed off some footage of robots escaping rooms by opening doors, but it seems that they have some competition now. Robot Systems Lab uploaded a video with footage of their 4 legged "ANYmal" robot opening doors, throwing away some trash, and carrying a box with a human. They've even taught it to dance before. What could possibly go wrong?

Check out the video here.

We present a motion planning and control framework for ANYmal, a torque-controlled quadrupedal robot equipped with a six degrees of freedom robotic arm capable of performing dynamic locomotion while executing manipulation tasks. The online motion planning framework, together with a whole-body control based on a hierarchical optimization algorithm, enable the system to walk, trot and pace while executing tasks such as fixed-position end-effector control, reactive human-robot collaboration and torso posture optimization to increase the arm’s kinematic reachability. The torque controllability of the whole system enables the implementation of compliant behaviour, allowing a user to safely interact with the robot in a very natural way. We verify our framework on the real robot by performing tasks such as opening a door or carrying a payload together with a human.
 
The Battlestar Galactica scenario is getting closer with each robotics advance. And thanks to the sex industry, the Cylons won't have to invent skin jobs, we will have already done it. Wondering if BG has solved the Fermi Paradox and no one noticed?
 
But what about stairs?

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These are the baby-steps a robot needs so that he can learn how to throw a body into the dumpster.

It's good that they're teaching it to help humans carry things, because that's how we'll escape the AI's human-exterminating robot army.
[Robot]: "Die, human!"
[Human]: "Wait! Wait, first I need help carrying a sofa up some stairs."
[Robot]: " ... Damn! Uh ... Oh, alright, where's the sofa?"
 
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Scary, they just aren't that strong or fast yet...but with a sharp knife, or gun they could do real damage.
 
That walking sound should keep people up at night...

"What's that stomping sound?"

"The last song we hear before our demise..."
 
Anyone see the movie Screamers?

It had RoboCop dude in it; it was from a Phillip K Dick story "Second Variety".

The bots kill everyone in the end. Terminator probably credits that story too, I'd bet.

The solution to all the SF "robot run amok" stories was Asimov's three laws.

Unfortunately, we have no idea how to program them in. :)
 
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