Watch: Boston Dynamics’ headless dog-like robot can now open doors (for you or for other robots)
Boston Dynamics is determined to prove that its robots can do anything humans can – even carry out actions that cannot be programmed easily.
The robotics company posted a video (above) that shows its SpotMini robot use a flexible, mechanical arm to, first, open a door, and, next, hold it open for its companion to enter. The companion, in this case, is another robot.
It might seem an ordinary feat from the perspective of humans, but it’s a complex accomplishment for a robot.
Now, the newly redesigned SpotMini robot might look like a headless dog, and it definitely lacks the fluffiness and cuddliness of one – it also eerily resembles the man-hunting robotic dogs from Black Mirror’s season four. It is, however, capable of a few neat tricks.
A video of the quadruped robot (below) from 2016 showed it doing household chores like washing dishes, recycling, and handing over objects to a human. And these were upstaged by the now-famous robot that can perform backflips. So, what next, we have to wonder.