The Atlas humanoid robot is just one of the
Boston Dynamics stable of advanced robotic platforms acquired by Google.
Photograph: Boston Dynamics
Google’s recent acquisition
of Boston Dynamics marks its eighth robotics purchase in the past six
months, showing Google’s “moonshot” robotics vision is more than just a
pet project.
Boston Dynamics is the most high-profile acquisition, however,
instantly adding world-leading robotics capability, including robots
that can walk all on their own, to Google’s arsenal – as well as
significant links to the US military – conjuring images of Skynet and
the artificial intelligence-led robot uprising straight out of the 1984
film The Terminator.
What is it?
Boston Dynamics is an engineering and robotics design company that
works across a wide range of computer intelligence and simulation
systems, as well as large, advanced robotic platforms.
The company was created as a technology spin-off from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology by Prof Marc Raibert in 1992, then the founder
and lead researcher of the Leg Lab – a research group focussed on
systems that move dynamically, including legged robots.
What does it do?
Raibert describes the Boston Dynamics team as “simply engineers that
build robots”, but in reality Boston Dynamics is much more than that.
Its robotics work is at the forefront of the technology creating the
self-proclaimed “most advanced robots on Earth” particularly focused
around self-balancing humanoid or bestial robots.
Funding for the majority of the most advanced Boston Dynamics robots
comes from military sources, including the US Defence Advanced Research
Projects Agency (Darpa) and the US army, navy and marine corps. The
terms of contracts currently held by Boston Dynamics with military
bodies are unknown, although Google has committed to honouring existing
contracts, including recent $10.8m funding from Darpa.
BigDog
BigDog is a autonomous packhorse
Funded by Darpa and the US army, BigDog is Boston Dynamics’ most
famous robot, a large mule-like quadruped that walks around like a dog,
self balancing and navigating a range of terrain.
Standing about 76cm tall, 91cm long and weighing 109kg, BigDog is an
autonomous system powered by an engine and controlled by on-board
computer system processing a series of sensors that monitor joint
position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a gyroscope, LIDAR
and a stereo vision system.
BigDog is capable of running at 4mph, climbing 35 degree slopes and
carrying 155kg loads. Its derivative, the Legged Squad Support Systems,
increases BigDog's carrying capacity to 181kg with a 20-mile range. The Legged Squad Support System is the next step in the evolution of the BigDog platform
Cheetah
Boston Dynamics Cheetah is capable of running faster than any human.
The world’s fastest robot, Cheetah, runs like a big cat at over
29mph – faster than 100m world champion sprinter Usain Bolt. Like a real
cheetah, the robot has an articulated back that flexes back and forth
with each step, increasing its stride length and running speed.
Funded by Darpa's Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program, in its
current implementation Cheetah runs tethered on a treadmill, powered by a
separate hydraulic pump.
The next generation of the Cheetah platform designed to operate untethered, the WildCat, recently entered initial testing. The WildCat robot is the next evolution in the Cheetah platform capable of running untethered.
Atlas
One of Boston Dynamics' most recent robot project, Atlas is a Darpa-funded humanoid robot.
One of Boston Dynamics’ latest robots funded by Darpa, Atlas is a
humanoid robot designed to negotiate outdoor, rough terrain in a bipedal
manner, while being able to climb using hands and feet as a human
would.
Atlas is will be equipped with articulated hands with sensors
enabling the robot to use tools designed for humans, as well as an
articulated sensor head including stereo cameras and a laser range
finder. The robot currently is powered by a tethered electric power
supply, and controlled remotely.
Other robots in the Boston Dynamics stable include Petman, a robot
that tests humanoid chemical protective clothing; the wheeled SandFlea
robot that can leap small buildings; a small six-legged robot capable of
traversing rough terrain called RHex; and the RiSE robot capable of
climbing vertical walls, trees and fences using feet with micro-claws.
What else has Google got?
Boston Dynamics is not the only robotics company Google has bought in recent years. Put under the leadership of Andy Rubin,
previously Google's head of Android, the search company has quietly
acquired seven different technology companies to foster a self-described
“moonshot” robotics vision.
The acquired companies included Schaft, a small Japanese humanoid
robotics company; Meka and Redwood Robotics, San Francisco-based
creators of humanoid robots and robot arms; Bot & Dolly who created
the robotic camera systems recently used in the movie Gravity; Autofuss
an advertising and design company; Holomni, high-tech wheel designer,
and Industrial Perception, a startup developing computer vision systems
for manufacturing and delivery processes.
Sources told the New York Times that Google’s
initial plans are not consumer-focused, instead aimed at manufacturing
and industry automation, although products are expected within the next
three to five years.
Rubin, before making Android into a mobile powerhouse, started life
as a robotics engineer at Zeiss. He has now convinced Google founders
Sergey Brin and Larry Page to fund a commercial robotics venture,
something Rubin has been mulling for some 10 years.
Robotic cars
Google is no stranger to robots. Its robotic car project, which
kicked off in 2009, is one of the leaders in the field. It currently has
a fleet of at least 10 converted Toyota Priuses, which have covered
more than 300,000 miles on Californian roads without incident.
The robotic cars have roof-mounted cameras and sensors that monitor
the road ahead and its surroundings, building a 3D model of the route
and navigating obstacles.
In 2012, a blind man names Steve Mahan was allowed behind the wheel of a Google self-driving car in Morgan Hill, California. • In September, Google introduced its biggest algorithm change in three years to better understand longer, more complex and spoken queries in its pursuit of more intelligent interaction COPY http://www.theguardian.com
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