By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer
Boston Dynamics, formerly a Google company that was then purchased by SoftBank, just released a YouTube video featuring a shinier, newer version of the SpotMini robot, originally launched in June of 2016. Built as a chore bot, the SpotMini wasn’t great at the tasks it set out to do. The new version appears sleeker (The Verge compares it to a cross between a Pixar animation and a robot out of the Neill Blomkamp vision of the future) and is covered in luminous yellow plates to conceal the inner workings.
In the 24-second trailer, the SpotMini’s movement seems to have improved, too, and is now more fluid and weirdly life-like, resembling a headless dog in its upbeat gait and interaction with the camera, trotting up to it, looking in, and bouncing happily away. And, although Boston Dynamics is notorious for providing little information in the wake of new products, TechCrunch says that the new SpotMini appears to have the same underlying hardware as the first, with a new exterior that includes a pair of Kinect-style 3D cameras in place of eyes.
For comparison, the first SpotMini looked like a creepy robotic dinosaur or giraffe because of its top-mounted manipulator arm, visible wires, and distinctly machine-like demeanor. It weighed 55 pounds and had a battery that lasted 90 minutes on a single charge, though we don’t know exactly what to expect from the newest version. It certainly looks smaller.
SoftBank has recently released robots in Japan, and Engadget speculates that the U.S. can’t be far behind, and they’re likely right — Boston Dynamics CEO Mark Raibert said at a conference in October, “I happen to believe that robotics will be bigger than the internet.” The improved version of SpotMini may well be the first steps in that process because it looks like Boston Dynamics is trying to shake the reputation of making robots that were simply too creepy for the public at large.
This is the first video from Boston Dynamics that does not feature SpotMini interacting with a human, which is probably a good thing — the first version did so in a variety of comedic ways, including begrudgingly fetching soda for a human, loading the dishwasher, and even tripping on a banana peel.
The video ends only with a request that viewers “stay tuned” for more information, and we will — in the face of such a limited reveal, what other option is there?
Here’s another cool video consolidating footage of all of Boston Dynamics’ four-legged robots prancing around.
Sources: The Verge, TechCrunch, Engadget
Image Source: Boston Dynamics
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