A Dog From the Uncanny Valley
You dog lovers might enjoy a view of your pet, circa 2025. I find this video compelling, impressive and somewhat disturbing.
My storehouse of outrage is depleted early this morning, so here’s an open thread.
May 24, 2010 8:06 am
Posted in: Open Thread
49 Comments
49 Responses
Teri - May 24, 2010 | 8:21 am · Link
Wow, and I can hardly get my dog to go outside in the rain and forget about going on gravel! I kept thinking of the walking robots in star wars…..just think what that could do for paraplegics etc. Thanks for the vid, interesting.
akaoni - May 24, 2010 | 8:45 am · Link
This video posted from the big dog robot from (I believe) the same team as the video above has also been floating around the intertubes for a while…the buzzing gives it an otherworldly, space insect vibe…
May have been posted here previously, but I’m too lazy to look.
El Cid - May 24, 2010 | 9:00 am · Link
This will help Dick Cheney in his future mobility needs, powered by his neutron star material heart.
bkny - May 24, 2010 | 9:00 am · Link
i am totally creeped out by all of these robot videos. what do the powers that be have in mind….
Bad Horse's Filly - May 24, 2010 | 9:18 am · Link
Why did they invent a giant flea robot?
Bill E Pilgrim - May 24, 2010 | 9:18 am · Link
Note to self: If you ever work as a robot designer, spring for the extra material to add a head. Even if it’s just cosmetic, it can cut down the creepy factor far beyond the cost of the material and negligible extra work.
Theron - May 24, 2010 | 9:20 am · Link
I like the handle on the back. Very practical.
Allienne Goddard - May 24, 2010 | 9:20 am · Link
This will sound idiotic; I will never say this again. I actually felt a little bit like I felt when my daughter started exploring on her own. I found (I believe) the same robot a bit disturbing when I saw it being kicked and recovering equilibrium, but this is simply adorable.
Bill E Pilgrim - May 24, 2010 | 9:25 am · Link
@Allienne Goddard:
I knew there were robots who posted here.
You can just sense that sort of thing.
(PS: Just teasing. Nice comment actually)
Punchy - May 24, 2010 | 9:28 am · Link
To play bass for the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
AnnaN - May 24, 2010 | 9:31 am · Link
Dog? I totally see an amputee insect in that video.
Allienne Goddard - May 24, 2010 | 9:31 am · Link
Mr. Pilgrim,
Oh, no worries. I laughed when I read your comment. It is silly, but I felt a similar sense of excitement and pride, though much less extreme, of course.
Also, do you have a link to explain how to quote or refer to your statement? I am a lurker by nature, and my google-fu is weak.
SP - May 24, 2010 | 9:34 am · Link
The BigDog video @2 is much cooler- it features someone kicking the dog, the dog losing its shit on ice, and doing happy robot dog hop at the end.
Bill E Pilgrim - May 24, 2010 | 9:38 am · Link
@Allienne Goddard: Oh it’s a “reply” link that should appear if you hover over the bottom right corner of my comment. Then you click it.
I thought it was interesting, that the entire species might feel a sort of parental pride as this robotics thing really gets going. Or the same mix of pride, fear, and etc, knowing that from this day forward every spare cent you used to have will now go toward this object taking its first steps.
cleek - May 24, 2010 | 9:43 am · Link
now they just need to drop in an MCP and the avatar that they pulled from the designer’s computer-whiz daughter’s VR holoband.
the Cylon Dogs have a plan.
it involves chewing-up all of humanity’s shoes.
Fern - May 24, 2010 | 9:44 am · Link
Those robots are very intriguing – any ideas about how the technology might be applied?
Allienne Goddard - May 24, 2010 | 9:46 am · Link
@Bill E Pilgrim:
Thank you. Very kind of you to explain.
I’m one of those despised “singulitarians” you might have heard about. We are awful people, but I expect at least some of my offspring to be cybernetic, so for me it is like seeing another mother with a bouncing baby.
CJ_n_PA - May 24, 2010 | 9:48 am · Link
Its paid for by DARPA. It will only be a matter of time before the UAVs are directly packs of robot dogs on the ground to explore roads, caves and other inaccessible locations. I am sure the development is underway—project Dingo anyone.
Captain Goto - May 24, 2010 | 9:49 am · Link
@cleek:Win.
Bruuuuce - May 24, 2010 | 9:57 am · Link
I always thought my future dog would look something like Rags, from Woody Allen’s Sleeper. But he would NOT leave little batteries around the house!
Captain Goto - May 24, 2010 | 10:09 am · Link
@Fern: Mine rescue?
UXO Removal?
Spy missions?
Randy P - May 24, 2010 | 10:12 am · Link
I’m already creeped out by the replacement of animals by CGI in Hollywood. I love watching animals working in movies when it’s done well. (Great use of animals: Homeward Bound. Terrible use of animals: Homeward Bound 2.)
The live-action remake of 101 Dalmations (1996) used some real dogs, including the adults Pongo and Perdita, but most of the puppies were animated.
DB - May 24, 2010 | 10:14 am · Link
@akaoni:
Obligatory Big Dog robot reply.
Randy P - May 24, 2010 | 10:15 am · Link
@Fern:
“Not creepy enough to stuff your late departed pet? Let us make it into a robot for you! We give you your choice of personalities from friendly to psychotic-chihuahua!”
gnomedad - May 24, 2010 | 10:16 am · Link
@Allienne Goddard:
To say nothing of a sense of unease that you will soon no longer be in complete control.
gnomedad - May 24, 2010 | 10:20 am · Link
Now this is really eerie. It reminds me of the Star Wars “walking gas pump” droid. Who decided to call it “PETMAN”? I hope our robot overlords treat us as well ad John treats Lily.
arguingwithsignposts - May 24, 2010 | 10:22 am · Link
anyone notice it’s not a cat robot? Because that would require many more years of work. just sayin.
Nimm - May 24, 2010 | 10:28 am · Link
I am a little uncomfortable about the fact that this robot was programmed to find human skin delicious.
SiubhanDuinne - May 24, 2010 | 10:39 am · Link
I need to wait until lunchtime to watch the video and catch up on the comments. But I see this is an Open Thread . . . .
So Howard Kurtz has a long article in this morning’s WaPo in which he gives Chuck Todd a great big ol’ sloppy tongue bath.
And it’s so well-written, too! Here’s a sample:
What that computer was doing in a wrinkled blue shirt, I’ll never know.
/Groucho
Cyrus - May 24, 2010 | 10:45 am · Link
Interesting video. Yeah, blah blah blah the robots are learning, but the thing that jumped out at me was the joints. It must be easy to make something strong that can rotate in two dimensions, but that robot dog’s hips were moving from side to side as well as front and back, and maybe the knees were too. And not just waving around: moving with enough force to carry itself. Think about the really tiny bits of metal or plastic that must be in there. I very rarely see that kind of articulation on toys or machines, and when I do it lasts about a month before breaking.
Now consider that a human has at least 60 more joints than that robot, just counting our digits. Barring extreme misuse or misfortune, they can be expected to last for 60 years in perfect condition and another 20 years or so with functionality impaired but still present. They’re solid enough to take a fair amount of punishment on their own, and they are constantly being broken in ways too tiny for us to notice and being rebuilt and repaired.
Humanoid robots are common in fiction because that makes for interesting conflicts over what makes people people and all that boring stuff, but it might just turn out that the objectively best kind of tool for long-term, multi-purpose work looks a lot like a living thing.
akaoni - May 24, 2010 | 10:48 am · Link
@DB:
Funny, but I like the robots better.
@gnomedad:
So awesome! It’s only a matter of time before we find R. Daneel Olivaw is among us…or maybe Roy Batty.
I guess what I’m saying is I know that Boston Dynamics is part of the Military-Industrial complex, but the sci-fi geek in me still makes me <3 them.
chrome agnomen - May 24, 2010 | 10:50 am · Link
@SiubhanDuinne:
evidently while sitting on arlen spector.
bemused - May 24, 2010 | 10:57 am · Link
Morning Joe show spent a lot of time on Sestak saying the WH offered him a job to not run against Spector. I thought Joe & Uncle Pat were going to pee their pants in excitement over their question if the WH did an illegal bribe.
Maude - May 24, 2010 | 10:58 am · Link
@Bill E Pilgrim:
You could have one of these robo dogs walk with you to work. How long does it take you to get to work these days?
I don’t think a head would work. These are just creepy.
Let us pray that they don’t ever use Tunch as a prototype for robo cat.
If they did do robo cat, they could use them for community service instead of jail time. Get the offender to try and train little robo.
SiubhanDuinne - May 24, 2010 | 10:59 am · Link
@chrome agnomen:
LOL.
I refuse to link to the article, but Howie also manages (under the guise of being highly complimentary) to make Savannah Guthrie come across as the single most vapid creature on this side of the Atlantic. I honestly don’t think she is, but you wouldn’t know it from the Kaplan piece.
arguingwithsignposts - May 24, 2010 | 11:02 am · Link
@chrome agnomen: green balloons!
Paul in KY - May 24, 2010 | 11:20 am · Link
It’s like a walking boom box. Pretty freaky.
Rick Taylor - May 24, 2010 | 11:34 am · Link
Dkos diary on the incompetent job BP is doing setting up booms to protect the Gulf coastlines. Excellent pictures.
Martin - May 24, 2010 | 11:37 am · Link
Spent the previous weekend at the JPL open house looking at the cool rovers. They’re doing some really extremely cool stuff out there with our tax dollars.
russell - May 24, 2010 | 11:52 am · Link
Weaponized.
russell - May 24, 2010 | 12:00 pm · Link
Hay.
cleek - May 24, 2010 | 12:10 pm · Link
Boom may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds. When not in use, Boom should be returned to its special container and kept under refrigeration. Failure to do so relieves the makers of Boom, Wacky Products Incorporated, and its parent company, Global Chemical Unlimited, of any and all liability. Boom is not a toy. Do not taunt Boom.
WereBear - May 24, 2010 | 12:18 pm · Link
Mr WereBear fell for the robot cat several years back. It was useful to play mind games with the real cats, and when it kept startling all the carbon based lifeforms in the middle of the night, I removed its batteries, put it in storage, and forgot about it.
They have all the exasperating qualities, with none of the adorable cuddles.
chrome agnomen - May 24, 2010 | 12:22 pm · Link
the holograms aren’t laughing.
Bad Horse's Filly - May 24, 2010 | 12:40 pm · Link
@gnomedad: Why are all these robots headless? And if we keep pushing them around like that, eventually they’re gonna push back. Just saying.
russell - May 24, 2010 | 12:47 pm · Link
It makes it harder for them eat us.
Anne - May 24, 2010 | 1:20 pm · Link
“Safe human interaction with possibly dangerous robots?” He’ll be eating his words when the robots become more intelligent and start killing us off.
licensed to kill time - May 24, 2010 | 1:30 pm · Link
That’s video of Kafka’s dog?
Mumphrey - May 24, 2010 | 1:32 pm · Link
My dog won’t have a head in 2025? Have we asked the dogs what they think about this?