Mini Cheetah Robot Video

[ysabetwordsmith]

Here is a more complete video of the mini cheetah robot from MIT.  I've seen some of these scenes but not others.  In particular, watch the shoulder/hip joints.  Those are now fully articulated, enabling the robot not only to accommodate vagaries of terrain but also to right itself after falls.  I am in awe. 

Comments

[alexseanchai]

dancing bot!

[wispfox]

All I can think is "Stop. Kicking. Me."

This may eventually turn into an intense hatred of humankind.

(also, that's amazing)

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I have seen subsections of this video posted with "Warning: robot abuse." It really bothers people, because the mini cheetah is now lifelike enough to activate peoples distress-recognizing routines.

I agree that if the robot were self-aware, this could cause problems.

However, you can't design a system to compensate for stressors without in fact apply stress. A rescuebot has to be able to navigate rough terrain and things knocking into it. The only way to develop that is make a base program, test it on rubble and with things hitting it, and then improve the program. They've been working on that cheetah for several years now, and it's turning into a real badass from all the knocking around it's gotten.

Re: Thoughts

[wispfox]

"However, you can't design a system to compensate for stressors without in fact apply stress."

Yeah, I know. It's hard to find and fix things if you don't test for them - I was QE for years and did things like pulling plugs on machines to make sure the underlying software failed over to other machines in the cluster as they should.

And yet! :)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's a good sign when people think about things like this. Does it harm a human to kick a robot that behaves like an animal? Is it wrong to kick a robot that "thinks and feels" like an animal, even if it's not at human intelligence yet? It is better to think about these things before we have sapient robots.

I would say, as long as it's an inert machine, kicking it is no more harmful than kicking a car. You might break your foot if you're careless. If you enjoy kicking it, you might have an emotional problem, or not, and that could be worth checking. But if the robot has, say, the mind of a cheetah then kicking it is as wrong as kicking a meat cheetah -- even if the robot does not at that time tear your leg off or run away at 60 MPH the way a meat cheetah probably would.

[siliconshaman]

It Proinks!

That, and does anyone else think it running among the leaves is some how adorable?!

Now.. all they need is a higher brain for it....

Shaping

[dialecticdreamer]

I kept thinking that putting a head on it would be ENTIRELY for the convenience of the humans around it. It functions and balances as is, just fine!

Re: Shaping

[ysabetwordsmith]

A head on a flexible neck would be a logical place to put a camera. I have seen a different robot with a heron-like neck holding its camera. A little creepy, but quite well designed.

Another good option is to put a hand there.

[pronker]

It pronks! It pronks! I want to make an animated icon of it!! Wonderful job, MIT.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> It pronks! It pronks! <<

That's from a previously released video showcasing all its gaits.

>> I want to make an animated icon of it!! Wonderful job, MIT.<<

Go for it!