See Spot Jump Rope
Feb. 5th, 2021 04:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithWith a new appendage, Spot the robot dog can jump rope, flip switches, open and close doors, pick things up, and do other important tasks. Although people keep calling it an arm, it's really a neck with a small head at the end, and biodynamically it works like an animal picking things up in its mouth. I think that distinction is important for the human controllers, because it'll be a lot easier to figure out effective motions if you remember animals doing that than trying to compare it to your own hand stuck on a doglike body. Biomimicry works best when you study living examples closely.
As a hobby-roboticist, I'm really excited about this. I love the cheetah, which broke a lot of new ground, but Spot is much more useful now that it can manipulate objects pretty well. It's not really graceful yet, but it doesn't need to be perfect to get the job done. It's good enough to deploy, and actually quite good for a bottom-of-intermediate scout and rescue bot. There are lots of things this type of bot can do. I'm especially impressed by the rope-turning, snow walking, and digging with a trowel (although I should point out that it's bad to pick up a potted plant by its top, because that can break off). The idea is to use robots like this in hazardous conditions, which is great.
I could also see this being extremely enabling for someone with mobility issues -- more so than a biodog, in fact. (This would lead to a natural experiment of the cloth mother/wire mother type. Would humans prefer a less useful but more cuddly biodog or a less cuddly but more useful robodog? It might vary depending on how much help they need or how much they like robots.) If you can operate computer controls, you can run a robodog, although I suspect it would be a lot easier with adaptive controls than the original meant for two fully functional hands. But it seems like robodog wrangler would be a great job for many disabled people. Robo-astronaut is another, and these things also work for search-and-rescue tasks.
Gosh, now I'm tempted to do a bedridden superhero who saves the day with an army of robopets. :D
As a hobby-roboticist, I'm really excited about this. I love the cheetah, which broke a lot of new ground, but Spot is much more useful now that it can manipulate objects pretty well. It's not really graceful yet, but it doesn't need to be perfect to get the job done. It's good enough to deploy, and actually quite good for a bottom-of-intermediate scout and rescue bot. There are lots of things this type of bot can do. I'm especially impressed by the rope-turning, snow walking, and digging with a trowel (although I should point out that it's bad to pick up a potted plant by its top, because that can break off). The idea is to use robots like this in hazardous conditions, which is great.
I could also see this being extremely enabling for someone with mobility issues -- more so than a biodog, in fact. (This would lead to a natural experiment of the cloth mother/wire mother type. Would humans prefer a less useful but more cuddly biodog or a less cuddly but more useful robodog? It might vary depending on how much help they need or how much they like robots.) If you can operate computer controls, you can run a robodog, although I suspect it would be a lot easier with adaptive controls than the original meant for two fully functional hands. But it seems like robodog wrangler would be a great job for many disabled people. Robo-astronaut is another, and these things also work for search-and-rescue tasks.
Gosh, now I'm tempted to do a bedridden superhero who saves the day with an army of robopets. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2021-02-06 01:01 am (UTC)If it was cheaper, it'd also be useful for folks like me that have trouble picking stuff up off the floor.
I had a silly thought about someone redoing the "See Spot" run books with one of these. Alas, copyright issues probably apply.
Regarding the gardening, I wonder how easily it could be programmed to distinguish between wanted plants and weeds?
Also be useful for harvesting things like strawberries and other "stoop labor" type crops if they ever get cheap enough and smart enough.
Spot would be an "interesting" companion animal. And I'm sure it could have "fur" (or microfyne) applied in various areas to help with the touch issues.
Thoughts
Date: 2021-02-06 01:32 am (UTC)They only had 3 legs, but yeah, I see the similarities.
>> If it was cheaper, it'd also be useful for folks like me that have trouble picking stuff up off the floor. <<
That's true. Perhaps mass-production will help bring the price down. Right now, it's about twice the cost of a high-end tankchair.
>> I had a silly thought about someone redoing the "See Spot" run books with one of these. Alas, copyright issues probably apply. <<
*laugh* That would be awesome. I think the rule of satire would apply, though; transformative works are protected use. Also protection applies chiefly to profit, so if they weren't selling the video, it should be fine.
>> Regarding the gardening, I wonder how easily it could be programmed to distinguish between wanted plants and weeds? <<
There is already an automatic gardening system with that capability, although I don't know how accurate it is. It seems well designed, though, and reminds me of orbital farm systems.
>> Also be useful for harvesting things like strawberries and other "stoop labor" type crops if they ever get cheap enough and smart enough. <<
Agreed, that's a great use.
>> Spot would be an "interesting" companion animal. And I'm sure it could have "fur" (or microfyne) applied in various areas to help with the touch issues. <<
I thought about that. Personally, I would prefer a practical robot to be smooth and easy to clean. If I want something fuzzy to hug, I have pillows and blankets for that.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-02-06 05:19 am (UTC)Easyish fix: have a removable pelt with fur, padding, whatever, that can be removed and washed.
Or something like clothing that the robot wears (like a Thundercoat made of fur).
Also, even with a smooth casing, the robot will be more comforting if it emits gentle warmth or makes soothing noises (like a heartbeat).
Other features like vocalizations, facial expression, interesting texture on the casing, being /cool/ to the touch might be better for some folks but not for others.
Personally I'm not sure I'd like a befurred robot - those robot cat toys always feel weird to me. I'm too used to real cats, which are less stiff than the robots.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-02-06 05:44 am (UTC)That's a good idea, plus it would give individuals a choice of hairless or fuzzy robots.
>>Also, even with a smooth casing, the robot will be more comforting if it emits gentle warmth or makes soothing noises (like a heartbeat).<<
I love the idea of a purring robot. <3 purrbot. :D
Furthermore, it turns out that a cat's purr has positive biological effects for cats and humans. Perhaps the robot could be designed to emit sounds, vibrations, etc. with other beneficial effects.
>> Other features like vocalizations, facial expression, interesting texture on the casing, being /cool/ to the touch might be better for some folks but not for others. <<
Or even at different times, as nobody wants to snuggle warm things in summer. Exploring variations would be interesting.
>> Personally I'm not sure I'd like a befurred robot - those robot cat toys always feel weird to me. I'm too used to real cats, which are less stiff than the robots.<<
That's the uncanny valley. If taken too far a robocat is not judged as a good robot but as a bad cat. To avoid this issue, we might be better off trying to make the robot appealing in its own right, rather than trying too hard to emulate something else.
Previous examples, such as Kismet, have indicated that humans can respond positively to robots. The Promobot escaped twice and I think its designers were idiots for not realizing that they had created something worth keeping and exploring -- a robot that went out and interacted with people on its own. That thing is gold.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-02-06 04:09 pm (UTC)I actually hadn't heard the term applied to tactile feedback before...
A robocat with polyester fur does feel very different to cuddle from a bones-wrapped-in-meat-wrapped-in-soft-real-fur. (Especially the ears!)
I actually find stuffed toys folded blankets / pillows more appealing for cuddling than robotic animals.
And come to think of it I find modern tech / robot aesthetics to be somewhat unappealing...I think tech design from Mad Max or the 1950s -1960s looks better / more interesting / more appealing than the modern sleek space age plastic stuff currently in fashion.
Speaking of that runaway robot, someone really needs to have an ethical discussion re: capitalism making workers in factories, and how to enforce nonhuman rights (especially as we aren't going too great with humans across the board either). And ideally a plan to do something when people are inevitably stupid and selfish.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-02-06 08:40 am (UTC)Eh, just have it attached in some way that's easy to take it on and off Wash the "fur" and stick the spare set on.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-02-06 01:45 am (UTC)It might depend on the extra features. (Some people would love a robodog with wifi and speakers).
I could also see problems with allergies - either insurance refusing a robodog to a patient because a service dog would be cheaper...without accounting for patient or relatives' allergies. Or someplace making service dogs illegal because of allergies, under the logic that you can get a robodog easy-peasy.
>>Gosh, now I'm tempted to do a bedridden superhero who saves the day with an army of robopets. :D <<
Go for it!
I actually know someone in RL who would love that job.
I was actually thinking of getting the person a drone for outings...but I couldn't find one with adaptive controls.
At this point, I may just end up using video chat, if it comes up again.