>> ^taranimator:

I dunno... While I appreciate all the flashier leaps and bounds made in robotics as you mention, the most exciting developments can often be more subtle. The little squid-like creature that moves by injecting air into its limbs and can fit under doors, for example, looks like nothing to most people but it actually has huge possibilities for future applications.
http://videosift.com/video/Robot-Without-a-Skeleton-Inspir
ed-by-Squid-Crawls-On-Land
Facial recognition, object recognition, all that jazz will take a long time to develop into something practical. In the meantime I think it's ok just to be amused by something so basic as not knowing how to decipher a mirror image. Remember back when Big Dog's precursors and other walking bots were hilariously inept? They're getting better all the time. The progression is what makes it cool.



yeah the projects you mentioned are all the things that I think are worth while , my point is really that there is no benefit taking this project out of a desktop pc might as well spend the time developing the software rather than arsing around sending it to a small pc in a shit robot.

My guess would be that he is developing some sort of kids toy with it which could work out ok.

the other video title is a perfect example of what annoys me "Robot becoming self aware?" just because its in a case with eyes and it can move around people and the media often think of it as a massive thing , where as certain things like Google are doing with there AI back end or the AI in some games is infinetly more intelligent and "aware" ( although obviously not aware at all) yet that gets ignored because its not in a cute plastic case.

I dunno... While I appreciate all the flashier leaps and bounds made in robotics as you mention, the most exciting developments can often be more subtle. The little squid-like creature that moves by injecting air into its limbs and can fit under doors, for example, looks like nothing to most people but it actually has huge possibilities for future applications.
http://videosift.com/video/Robot-Without-a-Skeleton-Inspired-by-Squid-Crawls-On-Land

Facial recognition, object recognition, all that jazz will take a long time to develop into something practical. In the meantime I think it's ok just to be amused by something so basic as not knowing how to decipher a mirror image. Remember back when Big Dog's precursors and other walking bots were hilariously inept? They're getting better all the time. The progression is what makes it cool.

the robot part of this project to me seems to be prity much a waist of time.

I guess to the layperson putting really basic software into a robot shaped object and having voice synth with pre recorded stuff looks impressive and so that's why people do these projects.

we are still at a point where the software is miles behind and that is where the work needs to be done for "intelligent" robots , granted the underlying software that maps out the image for the program to learn what is what might good in this project but its hard to tell from this video.

I guess my point is that until the software has got past a certain threshold there is no benefit putting it on a plastic case with wheels. To me the pre recorded voice and fake communication is as believable and beneficial to robotics as sticking eyes on a hoover.

Saying that I love physical robots that are actually progressing things like BIG DOG , or the Medical robots that can lift people , or the Exoskeletons that help old and disabled people walk , we are probably another 10-30 years before we will be able to marry convincing and practical AI with a robot in a way that's of real use.

>> ^MonkeySpank:

It's common for the baby to instantly stop crying. Something tells me that babies (or neo-people as they like to be called) still have the survival instinct of hiding when the wolves are around.
Similar video


There is really nothing like a throaty howl from a big dog.

No, this is not a euphamism, i really love hearing them.

RUBY!!! You're runnin with the big dogs now! :-D

BIG DOG

>> ^MycroftHomlz:
The fact of the matter is that I am just really tired of the trolling on this site. I think we need to change. As high ranking members of the site, we need to exercise our privileges a little more frequently to keep people in check.

I think channel assignments is an odd place to take a stand, but I don't have a problem with it. I would suggest that it's probably better practice to give a warning first. By warning I mean do the whole nochannel thing and, if it's added to the invalid channel again, then hobble.

I'm all for the big dogs flexing some muscle around here but, as @blankfist alluded to, if you intend to do it fairly, you've got your work cut out for you. There are or have been a number of high-ranking members who abuse the shit out of the lies invocation in particular.

Big Dog = "hey little dog...why are you in the trash?"
Little DOg = "nothing...here....put this on for a sec"

>> ^BicycleRepairMan:

>> ^Sketch:
I hate dogs and find them obnoxious, malodorous, and over-rated, but COME ON, PEOPLE!

You've never had a dog. I am sad for you. If you ever do get the chance to know one, and perhaps own one, you will not only find that dogs are not only awesome in more ways than I can put into words, but they will give you a whole new dimension in life. Seriously. They can change your fucking life.

Seriously.


True, I'm not a big dog person but now that I've had my dog for a couple of years since she was a wee pup, I'd mangle anyone who treated her badly.

And I'm not ashamed to admit that watching this got me quite teary. If there is one redemptive quality about watching horrific shit like this, it's that seeing how bad one individual animal get's treated has far more impact than hearing that hundreds of thousands get mistreated. I think we need that occasional punch in the guts to remind us the sort of shit that goes on in the world, and how we should all be aware and try to do our part when an opportunity presents itself to make a difference. Statistics just can't do that.

Excellently behaved big dog there. Reminds me of my dog, good stuff.

came for the links to the big dog, and its mock video, left satisfied.

The Doctor: "Quick! Protect us K-9 Mk4!"

Dalek: "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!! EX-TER-MIN... Oy, that's a big dog."

Lol, I like that the big dog is completely uninterested. "Do what you gotta do.."

>> ^TheGenk:

>> ^mrsid:
What's wrong with wheels?

Wheels are like Madonna... their golden age is over but they refuse to go away.

Naw, it's simply like that: Robot legs make everything awesome.


Big Dog is awesome, this is not...

http://videosift.com/video/Boston-Dynamics-Big-Dog

It's an impressive feat, but not as impressive as it seems. The robot wasn't made to respond to any novel dynamic circumstances. It just preformed preprogrammed poses, on a smooth, flat surface. I guess it did a little object tracking too. The real challenge in robotics is dealing with the dynamics, which is why the "big dog" videos by Boston Dynamics are so impressive. Everyone laughs at how it slips on ice, or has trouble getting its footing, but if you put this thing in the same circumstances, it would be a pile of broken circuit boards in no time. Granted, the big dog is quadrupedal, while this is bipedal, which is a much harder problem. Still, it doesn't seem as though they even make an effort to give it dynamic stability. I'm not sure they'll ever get to a decent humanoid robot until they start incorporating more muscle inspired actuators. The servos on these things just don't have the sort of mechanical compliance that allows our sloppy movements to be so forgiving.