“r08071<5” = “robotics”
Boston Dynamics designs, builds, tests and deploys advanced robotic devices that have amazing maneuverability and motion capababilities. They perform R&D for the defense industry, the armed forces, DARPA and others. The following video has an eerie quality to it, as if you can tell the project is unfinished yet you can still glimpse the future.
If it doesn’t seem like much immediately, consider the fact that this creation can not only adjust to changes in terrain, it can successfully react to physical stimuli and force. Newer versions are less noisy.
The company has experimented with many such robotic devices including those than can run or even climb walls like an insect. Below is a video of a device that can run close to 30 mph. Imagine this chasing you on the battlefield!
The above robot is called the Cheetah, for obvious reasons, and it is part of the DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program.
From an artistic perspective I always find it interesting to compare what science fiction comes up with versus what we can find in reality. Why is that important? I hope an artist realizes it is important because creating designs that not only look good but more importantly can be animated is an important factor in games, film, simulations, etc. I’ve seen tutorials that show great eye candy for designing robots … that could never be animated.The guys at Boston Dynamics do it for real.
Eric Chamberlain 