Human like Atlas Robotics - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 03:31:38 am
content: Inside the Lab: Taking Atlas From Sim to ScaffoldBoston Dynamics team in the Atlas lab answers questions on videoimpressive incrediblysmooth human likerobotics.

author: eti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 04:51:14 am
content: Robots. 🤦‍♂️ The most ludicrous fantasy of nerds. They’re good for production lines… and that’s all.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 05:33:29 am
content: I could see that being useful to send to Africa or after disaster relief to put together some houseshard to get alot of carpenters to go some where in a hurry, and usually they throw money at those problems, this would speed up response time for aid. Doubt it will be economical any time soon compared to normal labor, but if you are under staffed and in a hurry that is a solution. Plenty of people that know how to do things are not in physical condition to work 15 hour shift putting up field hospital, but they can supervise and that can do the heavy work.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 06:26:32 am
content: Yes robots doing backflips would be very useful in Africa and for disaster relief

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 07:22:33 am
content: Quote from: Bud on February 10, 2023, 06:26:32 ammore like establishing shelter in some remote village after some kind of disaster, locating inconveniently air dropped supplies, stuff like that

author: TomKatt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 12:12:52 pm
content: I get that "Uncanny Valley" feeling watching some of the movements on these robots... Uncannily 'organic', like a living animal...I remember watching the old "Spot" robot videos and the hair standing up on the back of my neck...

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 04:06:17 am
content: Quote from: Bud on February 10, 2023, 06:26:32 am

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 04:58:01 am
content: You get some real interesting questions. Sending a robot into collapsed buildings for search and rescue functions after an earthquake is a timely application. But the fundamental concept is that you are willing to let one or several robots get crushed to save (potentially) a human. But how sure do you have to be that someone could be alive before you risk a multimillion dollar machine? How many millions of dollars/life can you afford? Is the answer different if it is a Nobel prize winner than if it is an unemployed baker?

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 05:47:03 am
content: object lifting capability and the grippers of this robot are no nearly useful for rescue tasks. For search a trained dog and a low flying small drone would be cheaper and more effective. For building solid shelters a 3D printing machine could he setup, again cheaper and effective than bunch of fragile humanoids fiddling with bricks. All in all there is no need to create humanoid looking mechanisms when a box on wheels can do the job. Seems like a solution looking for a problem.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 05:54:26 am
content: But who is saying that it all has to be useful in the sense that we usually think of usefulness?

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 06:21:13 am
content: Well, since they have no emotions, they could be used to collect dead bodies.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 07:06:15 pm
content: Quote from: eti on February 10, 2023, 04:51:14 amMilitary applications abound,. What about EOD in the law enforcement domain? Could RoboCop become a real thing? How about really deep diving?It looks like a fleet of these robots could run an Amazon distribution center. Warehousing might be an ideal domain.They could clearly load/unload/transport parts from CNC machines.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 07:11:39 pm
content: Now that they are 3D printing complete houses, they might find some application for these robots. Material handling, painting, a bunch of other lesser skilled jobs.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 07:39:41 pm
content: Seems Entertainment industry fits better, acrobatic teams of Atlas robots can make performances at circuses and weddings, doing their back-flip stuff and dancing to amuse the audience.

author: HuronKing
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2023, 07:49:04 pm
content: No one has mentioned it so I'm going to - one of the applications of these robots is as caregivers in countries with disproportionately aging populations versus young populations (like Japan).https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00072-zhttps://www.beingpatient.com/robot-caregivers-dementia/Some of this tech already exists but the robots are very not humanlike. They look more like toys. The closer they can get to moving like humans and performing capably in human environments then it is more likely they can supplement or even replace traditional human caregiver tasks.There is also the market for humanoid robots in stunt performance roles. Very (in)famously, the Spiderman Musical on Broadway was cancelled because no human stunt performer could reliably do the show without breaking their necks.https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201125-how-a-spider-man-musical-became-a-theatrical-disasterNowadays, there are "stuntronic" machines that can do aerial acrobatics that would probably injure/kill humans:So - if you can create reliable bipedal robots and combine that with the significant advancements in AI and vision imaging, you can integrate them into doing menial labors like trash collection, meal service, cashiering, etc.Eventually they will become cheap enough to compete with actual human beings both in raw dollars and in headaches (who needs a fully staffed HR department when the robots don't take breaks, lunches, use the bathroom, or try to sexually harass each other?).There is a way to go still but I think a future like Westworld is very likely to happen - and will go through the same development pains Dr. Ford laments. And of course, the comment Dr. Ford makes about Ol' Bill being a good listener is exactly why these kinds of robotics are useful in caregiving roles:Addendum:And as I was writing this, Bud posted and made similar points about usefulness in entertainment. Even so, I will add that some I think are reading too literally into the backflips. It's a demonstration of capability... not literally what these robots are exclusively being built to do.