Robotic Santa Will Be Riding a Robotic Reindeer Sleigh Soon - http://clapway.com/2015/12/25/robotic-santa-will-start-riding-a-robotic-reindeer-sleigh-soon-123/

Robotics is huge right now, and the truth is we’ll probably have robot assistants in the near future. Meanwhile, we have robotic reindeer. Boston Dynamics has released a holiday video that surely puts people in the Christmas spirit, featuring a trio of their Spot robotic dogs adorably pulling a sleigh on the frame.

Some Found these Robotic Reindeer Horrifying

For the record, these robotic reindeer are adorable. Boston Dynamics has very appropriately given us a picture of our future. The team is currently designing the most advanced robots in the country, and this is a small show of what they can do.

Their Spot robots have recently participated in training sessions with US Marines. It’s possible these robots will see some kind of military application in the future. This video also proves that these bad boys are ready for more than the terrain of their offices.

Boston Dynamics Is Just Bringing Us the Holiday Cheer in Their Own Way

Some people have called these robots terrifying simply because of their slightly headless look, but to be fair, their feet are cute. The point is not in how they look anyway, it is in their functionality. They appear very lifelike, with the middle Spot lagging a little behind and holding up the robot pulling the sleigh. All movement looks only minimally robotic. It actually flows really well.

The Whole World is Adapting Robots into Daily Life

Others are actually afraid of the technology and not the robots themselves. This is perfectly understandable. Nobody currently over the age of 65 probably expected robots to be a thing already. The truth is, it’s about time. It raises some concerns on its liveliness, and makes people question whether or not it is a live object or a robotic being. In fact, these robots are probably only weird in America. All over the world, there are already robots working full time and giving people a refreshing sight at cashiers, especially in Japan. According to a recent study, robots could be filling half of all Japanese jobs by 2035, and that’s only the beginning.

It’s Not As Scary As We Think

This isn’t a futuristic fatale sci-fi movie. Robots won’t probably take over the world. They could help someone take over (and we have high suspicions that this could be Elon Musk), but they won’t Gozilla us per se. While reindeer do not look like the image that Boston Dynamics showed us, they’re free to look however Boston Dynamics wants them to look. The technology will continue to get developed and polished until we are truly afraid of robots. This won’t be because they look so foreign, but it may well be because they look so similar to us.

Robots Are Our Future

Physical and cybernetic robots are already among us. These robot reindeer are joined by Cortana, Siri, M, the Facebook AI, Google’s Gmail AI and many others. Artificial intelligence is growing at an incredibly fast pace. Our only option is to keep up. Right now, all of this technology is only doing good. As with anything, it has the potential to go wrong, but Silicon Valley has a lot of faith in their potential. We could be surprised about what will chance in every aspect of life thanks to this advancing technology.

Robots Still Need Humans to Work

That doesn’t mean that technology will overpower us. Robots and artificial intelligence interfaces are still subject to what humans put into their algorithms. No matter how fast they learn, they need to learn from someone. Hopefully, that will be humans for a long time to come. Otherwise, we may not be able to think about the unsettling feeling that comes with super smart technology for very long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDZu04v7_hc

Robotic Santa Will Be Riding a Robotic Reindeer Sleigh Soon

Drones Are Going to Start Taking Over Airspace - http://clapway.com/2015/11/04/drones-are-going-to-start-taking-over-airspace123/

An automated drone from MIT was able to avoid obstacles at 30mph in unmapped territory. Drones are already more than popular, garnering thousands of dollars on crowd funding websites and the like. Could this be the beginning of a technological take over?

In general, automated devices are given maps with which to navigate, and this drone, weighing 664g, can navigate on its own. The drone, designed by MIT student Andrew Barry, won’t avoid an airliner coming in at 300mph, but that’s only because the technology isn’t developed that far along yet. Highlighting the keyword yet. Barry’s drone, designed to earn him his PhD, can scan 10 meters ahead of its line of sight for obstacles, and it can adjust accordingly. He says that soon enough, drones will be able to brake automatically, just as cars do.

This would indicate giving drones even more intelligence to drive itself away from risk, and return control to the pilot once the obstacle has been bypassed. Thanks to his work, Barry is to join Boston Dynamics, which was acquired by Google 2013, after graduation. All of his work is shared on Github.

Technology enthusiasts, rejoice, for we may soon see the sky plagued with drones. Though many countries have criminalized the usage of drones, or otherwise banned them from certain public areas, it is only a matter of time before drones become an even more widespread invention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qah8oIzCwk

 

Drones Are Going to Start Taking Over Airspace

Check this #humanoid #robot enjoys nature thoroughly. - http://clapway.com/2015/08/18/watch-googles-new-humanoid-robot-run-through-the-woods-323/

ATLAS, THE HUMANOID ROBOT

Meet Atlas, the gargantuan humanoid robot developed by the Alphabet-owned Boston Dynamics. Atlas can be seen running through a forest in an astonishing new video. The video’s experiment is also the first time that the robot’s capabilities have been tested outdoors. It has inspired a comparison of the 344 lb, 6’2 tall Atlas to the Terminator.

Marc Raibert, the founder of Boston Dynamics, explained the details of the experiment at the Fab Lab 11 conference at MIT earlier this month. The purpose of Atlas’ run through the woods was to find out how the robot would perform in an unfamiliar setting and test its balance.

Though Atlas currently requires the assistance of someone holding a connected power pack to run, Raibert has said that it will be able to run on its own in the future.

The Irish Examiner commented “Yes, the robots can now chase us through the woods.”And, aside from running, Atlas can also turn doorknobs because it has the ability to rotate its own wrists.

HISTORY OF ATLAS

Atlas the humanoid robot was debuted in July 2013 by Boston Dynamics, when the company was owned by Google (which is now owned by Alphabet.) It receives funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is interested in using the robot for military situations.

Like Google’s self-driving cars, the humanoid robot perceives the world with a laser radar system. As PCWorld pointed out, several changes were made to the robot this year as part of an upgrade. Among other improvements, its arms were repositioned to become visible to it, its actuators were modified to help it pick itself up from the ground and it was given lighter materials.

ROBO SAPIENS

After its release, artificial intelligence expert Gary Bradski claimed that “A new species, Robo sapiens, are emerging.”

Raibert’s ultimate goal is to develop robots that can equal or exceed human capabilities, he explained at the conference. The Boston Dynamics founder told the Fab 11 conference’s crowd that “We’re making pretty good progress, so [Atlas] has mobility that’s sort of within shooting range of yours.”

This goal, if achieved, might lend credence to some fears about AI.

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Homo sapiens would like this:

Watch Google"s New Humanoid Robot Run Through The Woods