RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
Written by Rowan Horncastle
Technophobes, light the beacons - the robots are coming! Yesterday, we brought you news of Robocar" the world"s first driverless race car set to compete against a grid of other identical Robocars in an all-electric racing series next year. But now there"s more robot news, and it"s even more freaky.Meet Handle, the two-wheeled, four-legged creation from the Google-owned robotics firm Boston Dynamics. Less Robocar and more Robocop, Handle"s amazingly awkward ability to replicate physical human tasks is both fascinating and slightly scary at the same time.If your nightmares haven"t started yet, hit play and allow Handle to show you its moves. Looking like it"s constantly caught halfway between a moonwalk and Super Saiyan hip thrust, the six-and-a-half-foot robot can take on pretty much all the terrain while also being able to pick up boxes, spin around aimlessly and jump over four feet tall obstacles. Amazon warehouse workers, beware. Your job may be in jeopardy.As you may have noticed, at the end of the electric robot are two legs with stabilised wheels that allow it stand up vertically and roll around at speeds of up to nine miles per hour. Rather than needing the complex joints of the fully-quadrupedal bots, Handle"s wheels mean it can zip around (including down staircases and snowy hillsides), while its front legs are used for balance and for carrying loads of up to 50kg."Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance and mobile manipulation principles found in the quadruped and biped robots we build," Boston Dynamics said, "but with only about ten actuated joints, it is significantly less complex. Wheels are efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs, Handle can have the best of both worlds."We"re just waiting for Handle to form a charming and gregarious personality. Then we"re all screwed. Share this page: FacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppMailtoCopy link
Date written: 28 Feb 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 6877
Technophobes, light the beacons - the robots are coming! Yesterday, we brought you news of Robocar" the world"s first driverless race car set to compete against a grid of other identical Robocars in an all-electric racing series next year. But now there"s more robot news, and it"s even more freaky.Meet Handle, the two-wheeled, four-legged creation from the Google-owned robotics firm Boston Dynamics. Less Robocar and more Robocop, Handle"s amazingly awkward ability to replicate physical human tasks is both fascinating and slightly scary at the same time.If your nightmares haven"t started yet, hit play and allow Handle to show you its moves. Looking like it"s constantly caught halfway between a moonwalk and Super Saiyan hip thrust, the six-and-a-half-foot robot can take on pretty much all the terrain while also being able to pick up boxes, spin around aimlessly and jump over four feet tall obstacles. Amazon warehouse workers, beware. Your job may be in jeopardy.As you may have noticed, at the end of the electric robot are two legs with stabilised wheels that allow it stand up vertically and roll around at speeds of up to nine miles per hour. Rather than needing the complex joints of the fully-quadrupedal bots, Handle"s wheels mean it can zip around (including down staircases and snowy hillsides), while its front legs are used for balance and for carrying loads of up to 50kg."Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance and mobile manipulation principles found in the quadruped and biped robots we build," Boston Dynamics said, "but with only about ten actuated joints, it is significantly less complex. Wheels are efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs, Handle can have the best of both worlds."We"re just waiting for Handle to form a charming and gregarious personality. Then we"re all screwed. Share this page: FacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppMailtoCopy link
Date written: 28 Feb 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 6877
