The robotic revolt seen in films like Terminator moves quickly towards reality (which then does not occur much better, but the premises may be all there.)
Toyota debuted Thursday with its new advanced humanoid robot, the T-HR3, controlled remotely by an operator with a headset and a wired connection. Toyota says that in the future these mobile robots, lighter and easier to use than previous models, could be used “to perform surgery in a distant location where a doctor cannot travel. They could also allow people to attend events they cannot physically attend,” according to the Associated Press .
Also on Thursday was the announcement that Swiss researchers have developed a light and fast robotic insect called DEAnsect, which can withstand several blows from a fly swatter and can survive being stepped on by a shoe. The insect, which weighs less than a gram, can carry five times its weight, recognize black and white patterns and follow lines drawn on the ground.
“This technique opens up new possibilities for swarms of intelligent robotic insects, for remote inspection or repair, or even for gaining a deeper understanding of insect colonies by sending mobile robots to live among them”said Herbert Shea, a member of the research team with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
In case the swarms of robot insects weren't scary enough on their own, Shea added that they will be able to communicate with each other. “In the long term, we plan to adapt new sensors and emitters to insects so that they can communicate directly with each other.”
And they are just two of the latest creations in this fascinating and slightly scary field! Here are others with intelligence and rather eloquent appearance.
The Bot Dog who can open the doors
This quadruped as disturbing as the robot killer dogs in “Black Mirror” was developed by Boston Dynamics. It is a private company purchased by Alphabet, Google's parent company, and then sold to WeWork Group's SoftBank group in 2017.
Spot, this is its name, was initially used for research, but Boston Dynamics announced in September that it will begin selling these mobile robots to "first, selected customers". Spot can run, unlock and open doors, lift himself, operate in a variety of weather conditions and difficult terrain, and even dance.
Atlas: the parkour robot
This humanoid robot is also courtesy of Boston Dynamics. Atlas can run, jump, backflip and perform parkour stunts. I told you about it in this post.
“The control software uses the entire body, including legs, arms and torso, to mobilize the energy and strength to jump on the trunk and skip steps without breaking the rhythm,” we read on the company's YouTube account.
Some say Atlas could be useful in wars, and is reminiscent of the first robots featured in “The Terminator.”
Here is his latest feat:
'RiSE': mobile wall-climbing robots.
Boston Dynamics, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, UC Berkeley and Lewis & Clark University collaborated to build this “climbing robot” that resembles a large scorpion and has no problem crawling up trees, poles, facades and bricks.
TheWildCat
This robot is about the size of a pony “quadruped developed to run fast on all types of terrain”, according to the company's YouTube account. The WildCat, so far, “runs at a gallop at around 30km per hour on rough terrain”, according to the company. An older, smaller version, called The Cheetah, reached speeds of nearly 50km per hour. Almost a leopard.
GhostSwimmer drone
Developed by the US Navy and Boston Engineering, this underwater drone is the size of a tuna but looks like a shark. Second Wired “These mobile robots can operate in water from 25 centimeters to 90 metres. They can be controlled remotely with a 150 meter cable or swim independently.”
