US-based tech firm Boston Dynamics wowed the world when it debuted its SpotMini robot in 2016 - and now the dog-like bot is showing off its latest party trick.
In a newly released video, an updated version of the SpotMini can be seen approaching a door and extending its head-mounted gripping claw to open a door. It then holds the door open using its arm and legs for another robo-dog to walk through, before passing through itself.
The footage only offers a small preview of what the robot is capable of, says TechCrunch, and it is not known whether the machine is controlled autonomously or by a someone with a remote.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Previous videos of Boston Dynamics’s four-legged robots revealed 3D cameras being used for navigation, the website says, which hints at “the possibility of an advanced autonomous control system”.
Either way, says Wired, “it’s a pretty incredible feat” and shows that tech companies are developing increasingly sophisticated “robots that get along with a world built by and for humans”.
“A giant robo-dog that helps out around the house sounds like a dream come true,” says Gizmodo - although the bot “will probably let all of its little robo-friends in so they can hang out and plot humanity’s demise”.
-
October 19 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
Your therapist, the chatbotFeature Americans are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence for mental health support. Is that sensible?
-
Supersized: The no-limit AI data center build-outFeature Tech firms are investing billions to build massive AI data centers across the U.S.
-
Digital addiction: the compulsion to stay onlineIn depth What it is and how to stop it
-
AI workslop is muddying the American workplaceThe explainer Using AI may create more work for others
-
Prayer apps: is AI playing God?Under The Radar New chatbots are aimed at creating a new generation of believers
-
Is the UK government getting too close to Big Tech?Today’s Big Question US-UK tech pact, supported by Nvidia and OpenAI, is part of Silicon Valley drive to ‘lock in’ American AI with US allies
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
