Don’t panic but the Boston Dynamics robot dog Spot is learning some new behaviours. I repeat: Spot is learning.
As part of the Release 3.0, Boston Dynamics is training Spot to be able to function and do its job without human intervention, which is… about as terrifying as it sounds.
Basically, Boston Dynamics is continuing its efforts in trying to train the robot dog to adapt to real-world situations. Specifically, Spot can now replan routes to avoid unplanned obstacles.
As part of a ‘Flexible Autonomy’ update, Spot is now capable of mission editing, mission planning, dynamic replanning and scheduled missions.
This means that if Spot was trying to inspect a space and encountered a rogue box, it could reroute to avoid it and complete the task as required.
The update also means Spot is able to handle missions without any human intervention at all, with the technology now being smart enough to automatically plan routes based on the task at hand.
Not only is Spot smart enough to plan things for itself, but it is also smart enough to alert you when you make mistakes. So basically, Spot is getting close to being smarter than you.
Using scene recognition and computer vision to capture identical photos from the same angle every time, Spot will notice if something has gone amiss.
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Other new features included in Release 3.0 include warning sounds and remote manipulation, among others.
Is this an exciting technological breakthrough? Is this nightmare fuel? I’ll let you decide.
Obviously, none of this means anything unless you own the uber-expensive $US74,500 robot dog as a pet/evil sidekick. But for the rest of us, at least this is a little nightmare fuel to keep you up at night for the next little while.
If, by some chance, you have a spare hundred-ish thousand dollars to spend, you can contact Boston Dynamics here to buy your own. Or, idk, adopt yourself a real dog.