Boston Dynamics and the robots that are surprising the world

The work that Boston Dynamics does is spectacular. Each video published by the specialized engineering and robotics company accumulates millions of views and comments in a few hours. The way their robots reproduce human and animal movements surprise some and disturb others.

His creation Atlas is so far his biped humanoid best achieved. He is able to walk on difficult terrain, jump obstacles or from one box to another, do pirouettes, carry heavy objects and get up by himself, as we have seen in some videos, demonstrating an impressive agility and balance.

Handle, a robot that uses wheels instead of legs, with which it can perform jumps, turn on its own axis, go down stairs and hills maintaining the balance regardless of the conditions of the surface. Overcomes obstacles and follows its path without any problem because it has its own stabilizer and each wheel works independently.

SpotMini is one of the most versatile robots in Boston Dynamics. It is a robotic quadruped, similar to a dog, which we had already seen find its own way and walk on steep stairs easily. In a video recently released by the company based in Massachusetts, it appears with a mountable mechanical arm that allows it to hold objects with delicacy and open a door and stop it while giving way to a "partner."

Although Marc Raibert, President of Boston Dynamics, expects SpotMini to enter the market to provide services in homes and, above all, to assist in the care of the elderly and disabled, he admits that the robot is very expensive for mass consumption and that still requires technical assistance regularly. For the moment, its greatest value is as an entertainment device.

For now, Boston Dynamics has ten SpotMinis and plans to build around 100 more for additional testing this year before producing it on a large scale by mid-2019. No price has been set for the robot yet, although Raibert said that the prototype is manufactured most recent costs about a tenth of the previous versions.

The reactions are not always positive; Siraj Hashmi, a collaborator with The Washington Examiner, has expressed concern about the high technology that Boston Dynamics develops, ensuring that we must keep an eye on its operations so that they are used for the benefit of humanity and not for other purposes.