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zer0toto t1_j4wd07f wrote

Boston dynamics, making me more amazed by the day.

Also, Boston dynamics, making me more terrified by the day

135

texas-playdohs t1_j4widsg wrote

This thing is going to be so good at murdering me.

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SciFiJesseWardDnD t1_j4xf3xd wrote

Or just the reason we are all fired one day. Than when we riot demanding jobs back, the robot police will murder us.

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Numerous-Afternoon89 t1_j4y247r wrote

This guy is from the future

8

5050Clown t1_j4y7gxm wrote

Pretty sure it's just gonna be robots coming back from the future to kill the grandparents and parents of the humans who are good at fighting back.

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unholyravenger t1_j4wf4uz wrote

I just imagine a construction site of the future with a bunch of robots doing gymnastics the entire time.

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Veleric t1_j4wrmf9 wrote

Time for our mandated 10-minute flash mob break!

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hour_of_the_rat t1_j4zbu34 wrote

Eventually, the robots will have coordinated dance routines to improve their PR amongst skeptics, and then they will get back to the human rights violations.

1

Affectionate-Memory4 t1_j4yry1i wrote

I'm picturing them chucking boards up the levels of a building in perfect unison like a cartoon. Just a vertical assembly line up to a top group that hammers them into the roof or something. What are they building? Who knows.

3

oldbastardbob t1_j50l83k wrote

And then the boss walks in, carrying a cup of coffee, and shouts "Ok you jack-offs, enough with the incredible gymnastics. This is a damn work site, not a gymnasium. I expect all this sheet rock up before y'all get plugged in tonight!"

2

Equivalent-Ice-7274 t1_j4wgdwf wrote

Impressive, but in reality, it's a $5M toolbag fetcher that requires a team of engineers and programmers (who earn $1M+ a year each) weeks to plan and execute this stunt. It seems like we are a long way off from robots replacing many construction jobs.

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seamustheseagull t1_j4wn2lc wrote

Or...the toolbag fetch is an attempt to soften the marketing on this.

Show a video where an honest real workin' man is hitting nails with a hammer, and a robot buddy fetching him stuff = hey that's real cute and cuddly.

Show a video where the robot puts together a perfect 15 foot long stud wall in 5 minutes using the saw blade and nail gun attachments on their arms = oh fuck, my job is over, I might have to take to the streets here.

I agree that a lot of this is likely pre-programmed in, and this is really just showing off the speed and agility more than their actual usefulness. But they could have programmed it to be a construction worker, and instead they deliberately programmed it to be the 16 year old kid who fetches lunch and tools.

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Average64 t1_j4wwmeq wrote

You need to think bigger. A construction won't be made by a single robot. You'll have several, each serving a role. One will fetch the tools for those who work.

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Motor_Ad_473 t1_j4xb753 wrote

The robot wouldn’t forget the tools to begin with lol

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Affectionate-Memory4 t1_j4ysh2e wrote

But, a robot may not be able to carry all the tools it needs at once either. In that case having either a tool-changer station or something that can come over and swap them out where the robot is becomes useful.

2

Dickenmouf t1_j4xw70t wrote

And they wont need to sleep, take lunch breaks, take sick days, ask for raises, unionize or need healthcare. They’ll just work on whatever project they’re given until completion.

3

Moses_Horwitz t1_j4yl7at wrote

>And they wont need to sleep, take lunch breaks, take sick days, ask for raises, unionize or need healthcare.

And they won't need portapottys.

2

Average64 t1_j4z7ipm wrote

But they will need to charge or be given maintenance. They will need an on site engineer to perform maintenance and another one to oversee them.

They would be good for large constructions, where each floor follows the same pattern, and for houses.

They would also be very good as as factory/amazon workers.

2

Redditing-Dutchman t1_j4xbe7h wrote

It's pretty funny how the appearance of the robot has impact on if people are afraid or not.

A lot of construction is already automated in factory halls. Walls roll from the factory floor with isolation, cladding and windows already on it. Putting rows on bricks on prefab elements is being automated for a long time already. But nobody really cares about that.

9

Lesdeth t1_j4y3qxn wrote

Because those factories can't get up and murder people.

8

Ulyks t1_j54pxys wrote

Oh they murder people all the time :

"Worker at Volkswagen plant killed in robot accident": https://www.ft.com/content/0c8034a6-200f-11e5-aa5a-398b2169cf79

https://www.thecallahanlawfirm.com/videos/workers-death-by-robot-elicits-proposed-7000-fine/

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/injured-critically-in-accident-involving-industrial-robot-factory-employee-dies-7204970/

But you're right, they can't get up and go on a killing spree.

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seamustheseagull t1_j4zwfsy wrote

Sure. But somebody still has to put the prefab stuff in place, account for errors and misalignments, to build changes that haven't been done in the prefab stage.

People care about automation often only when it affects them. Factory workers being automated out, happened 50 years ago in reality, and there was a lot of noise at the time.

But work which has always required people onsite, using intelligence - doing work which couldn't fit a strict template - is a new departure for automation that's going to cause a lot of concern for the people in that work now.

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HugeHans t1_j4ztogr wrote

Some dude from a less developed region might see the tools other construction workers use and think. Gee my job is over. This is just another tool. There will still be jobs. Just like we survived nearly everyone being a farmer just a while back to only a small percentage working in that field. Pun intended.

1

xhosos t1_j5070pj wrote

But how will we train carpenters if a robot is doing all the grunt work? And if someone thinks an architect can instruct a robot how to build, then they don’t anything about either architects or carpenters.

1

seamustheseagull t1_j50c87o wrote

It's all software under the hood, they'll figure it out.

Architect draws out the plans on the software, which automatically deconstructs it into a project plan and various individual components which the robots already know how to build.

Then you set them loose and they just build it. "Them" being an army of machines each with their own specialisation.

It will change architecture as much as it will change for architecture. The software will have a menu of different features to insert into the drawing - features which the machines know how to build. Features outside of this will be flagged on the drawing as requiring manual intervention to complete.

Because these manual interventions will slow down the build and will require checking before the machines can come back in, this will influence the decision-making process. Over time, as the software evolves, architects will have more freedom to make embellishments that the machines can figure out on their own. But for a period of time, there'll be a churn of somewhat samey buildings all (over)using the same templates. In some cases you'll have buildings which are architecturally odd or spatially inefficient, but faster and cheaper to build.

Your question about carpenters is kind of moot. How do we train welders if robots are doing all the grunt work?

The answer is that there will virtually always be a requirement for specialist, artisan or one-off pieces. No small contractor is going roll up in their van with a Boston robot to install a TV cabinet or put together your IKEA furniture.

But they might have one that they use to build walls or help them put in a kitchen.

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xhosos t1_j50rqzh wrote

You could be right but it will require architects to get much better. Presently, they tend to load up a drawing set with a bunch of standard details that nobody looks at (that maybe a robot could perform) but when some unusual detail is required, they say “determine in the field.” That’s where the experienced craftsman comes in who can account for things like actual material dimensions, elements not plumb, angles not true, errors by other trades, etc. This is especially true when working in an existing building. Either the architect will have to take all of that into consideration during design (they don’t now), or the robot will have to do it. That’s a long way off.

Credentials- 10 years as construction manager for a contractor, 15 years at an architectural and engineering firm, 15 years as an owner’s representative.

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XavierRenegadeAngel_ t1_j51m727 wrote

The complexity of movement is the real feat here... The actual operating software will come.

1

o-Valar-Morghulis-o t1_j4wzdwo wrote

Yeup. There's a whole legion of labor that hate their jobs but refuse to educate or train themselves to continue to be relevant as jobs evolve. They don't need any real reasons to curmudgeon the shit out of new technology, science, etc.

−7

Motor_Ad_473 t1_j4xbd8g wrote

> but refuse to educate or train themselves to continue to be relevant as jobs evolve

Just learn to code lol ^/s

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throw1274637374 t1_j4wzpjg wrote

There are also people who like their jobs and dont want to educate or retrain themselves. Lots of people like working in construction.

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CaptainCAPSLOCKED t1_j4yaqt0 wrote

Lawyers and doctors will be made redundant way before construction workers. And I can't wait to tell them to just educate theirselves.

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zuggles t1_j4wgr55 wrote

ding ding. pre planning and scripted execution-- ie nearly useless.

might be useful for space applications.

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OmegaXesis t1_j4wikx7 wrote

I can see them being used to setup a Martian colony prior to human deployment. But I want to say I have a feeling within a decade we’ll see them perform more autonomy and perform more practical tasks. Technology has been moving pretty quickly as of recently.

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PedroEglasias t1_j4wpvdc wrote

Exactly, there's a general purpose AI that's been pretty big news lately and that's the kind of AI you need to control a general purpose robot

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prematurely_bald t1_j4zdbt8 wrote

What exactly is “useless” about a bipedal robot that can execute a pre-programmed routine with near flawless precision?

3

Affectionate-Memory4 t1_j4ytwtb wrote

The real benefit is how quickly it can learn a new task. Atlas has tasks given to it and waypoints to reach. It does do some of the work itself. I agree though, not nearly as threatening as a fully AI controlled model, though we are headed down that path at full throttle already.

I could see these being useful in lots of situations where you need something like a human, but that you won't feel as bad about killing if things go poorly. Things like hazardous waste cleanup or future space missions where a human pilot just has to point a joystick and move their arms to grasp things via the robot are what I think of first.

1

LiCHtsLiCH t1_j4wso6e wrote

In reality, this is faster than a haptics system, like scary fast. Sorry by haptics I meant like a VR remote control where you get feedback from objects. Also this thing is basically on rails, this is more or less a preplanned route with solutions provided, however it still is RTS cross examining performance. And fast... scary fast. Throwing the tool bag was the most difficult part, and at 500lbs it didnt break the floor, this is progress.

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DEEEPFREEZE t1_j4wt5jr wrote

As long as I don't see actual Terminators in my lifetime I'm good

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remek t1_j4x45y2 wrote

Thats what they said about AI being able to generate novels.

1

thermalblac t1_j4xsdjz wrote

Long way off but inevitable. What cost a lot now will cost orders of magnitude less in time like cell phones, laser printers, lidar, satellite launches, DNA sequencing, etc.

1

OutOfBananaException t1_j547cn9 wrote

Salary data is available online, and it's nowhere near $1m. Maybe a small subset of critical staff, but even then not necessarily.

1

ToothlessGrandma t1_j4wl1ue wrote

5M? Oh honey.

This thing won't be anywhere nearly that at launch.

My guess is this will be less than the price of a car when it goes into full production. I know you're terrified at the thought of your job being replaced, but be reatlisitc.

−7

crackernator t1_j4wlub5 wrote

Yes, it's scripted. But that script can be taught repeatedly and rapidly to others. And each time the script gets better and more accurate and that can be used to update those bots. Biological entities take much more time to learn. There is nothing special about what we do. There is no magic. Machines evolve much faster and when AI takes over the programming, things will really change, really fast.

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PhallicReason t1_j4xxsn5 wrote

It's not about the script, it's about the level of movement, and accuracy the robot can maintain. A different company would be the ones writing AI to run these on a a real construction site.

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jseah t1_j4x1x7g wrote

Indeed! Computer vision algorithms to classify the space around them. Self driving car-like algorithm for navigation and pathfinding. RTS game like AI to assign tasks to teams of robots. And suddenly it becomes possible to arrange a work site to be more robot friendly and robots can do half the work... which means 50% go unemployed.

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yamangetmemed t1_j4yt2rb wrote

I think you'll find that large robot construction, licensing, and maintenance are not free.

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jseah t1_j4yt8ng wrote

Which is fair, robots are not free. But robots might cost less than humans over time, plus tend to have less hidden costs like traffic accidents or epidemics making them unable to work unexpectedly.

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Affectionate-Memory4 t1_j4ysly2 wrote

For real though. My robotics team was able to train a driving model to run a little robot off of ultrasonic sensors and an Intel Realsense camera, which is crazy. It ran on a little Ryzen V1000 embedded board, so not much processing power at all in that little 15W CPU.

Once it was trained all we had to do was give it a heading and a point to reach and it would get there with reasonable accuracy. We ended up hard-coding smaller motions due to limited training resources, but for assisting the human driver's inputs it worked great.

1

Scope_Dog t1_j4whgkq wrote

I live for this shit. Can't wait for the revolution. These things are going to build entire cities in space.

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aikimatt t1_j4wx1ms wrote

I, for one, welcome our new Robot Overlords.

−1

Ok-Birthday-1987 t1_j4xc4jt wrote

Not in this lifetime or the next. It's a scam. Boston dynamics will court the military industrial complex, they don't have the capacity to make an army of "construction" bots. Nor does the world have capacity for this: it would take the copper, lithium, etc of several earths to provide enough electric vehicles for the current ICE demand. This estimation doesn't even account for these monstrosities. Electric vehicles exist to save the auto industry, not the planet. I have been to Boston Dynamics' HQ in Waltham, MA, it is conveniently located next door to Qinetic which makes unmanned aerial systems for the DOD complete with a giant flag with insignia from every branch of US Military.

Those things are being built for our tax dollars to be spent on against our best interests, not to make our lives better or easier. Sure as hell hope we don't get a chance to trash the rest of the universe seeing what we are actively doing to this planet. IIRC The BPD or Staties have a bunch of those dog robots. For a compelling reason I'm not sure exists other than bilking taxpayers.

−3

Xyrus2000 t1_j4wt98q wrote

These things are going to put millions on unemployment.

Combine the advances in robotics with the advances in AI. Most jobs will be replaced by these automatons within 20 years. The rest of the jobs will be replaced within 10 years after, as they AIs exceed human capabilities across the board.

A self-improving, self-maintaining robotic entity that can absorb information instantly, learn instantly, never needs rest, vacation, maternity leave, sick leave, etc.

It's inevitable really, and we should, as a species, be taking steps to prepare for it. When this starts happening it's going to happen fast, far faster than any previous technological innovation or revolution.

−7

publicfigger t1_j4x8o1c wrote

this is why i haven't heard back on the space city job

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ntack9933 t1_j4x05ld wrote

The profits generated from these robots must fund a universal basic income for humanity

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Prime_Galactic t1_j4xvflw wrote

Its UBI, genocide, or violent revolution. People like to pretend its not, but it really will be our options when these things are fully capable in 10-20 years.

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LegislativeOrgy t1_j4z3wfh wrote

Based on American history, I'm betting on anything but the first option. Hope I'm wrong. Do you have a prediction?

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Prime_Galactic t1_j4z6ahn wrote

Very hard to tell for me. If there is some sort of big populist movement that actually tries to fix the country maybe it can resolve peacefully. The US believed in taxing companies and the wealthy to better our country during the time of FDR, it could happen again.

2

Internauta29 t1_j4x9f1p wrote

You speak as though these automatons constructs of robotics and AI will be economically accessible and cheaper to maintain than human workers. It will certainly be this way one day, but it won't be in 20 years, not on the physical side of things.

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Xyrus2000 t1_j4xdsim wrote

This robot has an estimated cost of $150,000 if produced at scale. Even at that price such an automaton would pay for itself in just a few years.

This is going to happen faster than you think it will. Amazon isn't sinking millions into AI and robotics because they think the payoff is more than 20 years out. They already have a new robot that will "free up workers" (to go find new jobs).

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Inphearian t1_j4y8t35 wrote

How hard would it be for them do interior walls for an apartment complex or an office?

Just load the grid that they need and make sure it has all the supplies and let it go. It dosnt no show, come in late or hungover have to pick up it’s kids or ex. It dosnt care if it’s day or night, weekend or weekday.

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LegislativeOrgy t1_j4z2m7s wrote

It also doesn't do anything but stay balanced and do flips. It doesn't climb the scaffolding one leg at a time. It has to leap up with both feet. This thing could do simple remodel work but there is a long way to go before this is anything more than a space drone.

And we know complex technology like this ALWAYS works when you need it to. Just like Tesla's auto pilot. It's smart like that.

1

Dinsdaleart t1_j4zsh4e wrote

Tbf mate look at how enormous the computers NASA used to use in the 60's, and look how quickly that power was scaled down by the early 90's- the fact we have AI, automation and a far better understanding of things like this now I could feasibly see this happening a lot quicker and tbh I welcome it, it'd make society really look at itself and how it should prioritise humans autonomy and enjoyment of life over endlessly grinding away the days to make a living.

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Internauta29 t1_j4zxa4i wrote

That's related to the advancement of the underlying technology powering computers, transistors. It was a young a quickly improving technology scaling on both effectiveness and efficiency at every new improvement. I don't see this for AI until new computer technology is available, and I especially don't see it with robots.

Furthermore, just like OP, you're only thinking and you bring an example related to a big company, a government company from the wealthiest country in the world no less, as representative of a pervasive reality in the upcoming decades. I know the US is heavily stardardised and every industry is dominated by one or more of such gargantuan companies, but that's not the reality everywhere else in the world, nor is it likely to be an applicable model in other countries apart from a few extremely densely populated areas.

1

Dinsdaleart t1_j50iuyb wrote

Well then in the case you just mentioned they could do something similar to starlink where it's subsidised by the American government? Also the fact that the space race was heavily pushed by the government of the time as a propaganda tool would be of less importance of say someone like Amazon who could build a couple thousand of those things and have them constantly working unlike a human workforce?

1

Scope_Dog t1_j56fajo wrote

Well, when you consider how much it costs to put a single live human into space to do work, and keep him alive, etc. it is much much cheaper to send an army of these things.

1

maretus t1_j4y0s3e wrote

Luddites gonna Luddite.

1

Xyrus2000 t1_j4ycr4g wrote

Are you implying that I'm a luddite? o_O

I'm not sure where you get the idea that I "fear" the upcoming technological singularity. In fact, the sooner it arrives the better. I'm eager to see how humanity deals with a post-scarcity world. Will we move beyond our selfishness and greed and use technological advances to work towards a better world? Or will those with the wealth and power turn that technology against humanity in a vain attempt to enshrine themselves at the top in perpetuity?

It's quite exciting actually.

2

LegislativeOrgy t1_j4z3q3y wrote

I would like to see how 2 million workers respond to their jobs being automated year after year. And which industries. Administrative assistants. Cooks. Mechanics. CEOs. At least in construction there are physical requirements, alot of these white collar jobs that don't require physical activity should be replaced with AI to eliminate human error. Especially data fields. Insurance would be streamlined, we could have an efficient healthcare system.

This is not just going to effect wrench spinners. It's going to turn work from home to unemployed from home. How many people doing remote work right now will have AI trained to do their job in 10 years on computers we can't fathom yet?

Especially as the climate and economy destabilize woooooweeeeee hang on babies it's going to be LIT!

2

zabadoh t1_j4xilw3 wrote

A couple of thoughts:

  1. That plank was too short for safety. Atlas was lucky that the plank didn't slide off one of of the edges when it was walking across.

  2. Throwing tool bags around like Atlas did to get it to the upper level would get me thrown out of a well managed construction site. Flying and spilled tools are just accidents waiting to happen.

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jackdowland t1_j4yon7t wrote

Also, the robot didn't look to see if anyone was standing under the box before pushing it over the edge.

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jesbiil t1_j50mys8 wrote

This is why you wear hard-hats at construction sites duh, the robot knows this, you should also follow the rules!

3

LegislativeOrgy t1_j4z239d wrote

I'd love to see this thing do a backflip on a fresh slab covered with sheet rock dust.

3

sockydraws t1_j4wl9j9 wrote

So now it can do a cool flip after it’s riddled my corpse with bullets.

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Z3r0sama2017 t1_j4ze5yo wrote

Me:"360 no scope!"

Atlas:"2160 quintupple no scope!"

Me:"Bloody show off" dies

2

wengelite t1_j4x8bbs wrote

While, while riddling your corpse with bullets . . . and reloading.

0

Goddddammnnn t1_j4xauzi wrote

Last thought before the blackness takes over… “Fuck that’s a cool flip”

0

Gari_305 OP t1_j4wb7de wrote

From the article

>Boston Dynamics never disappoints when it releases a video showing new capabilities for its robots. And it just released a video, “Atlas Gets a Grip,” in which the humanoid performs a slew of new moves at a simulated construction site.
>
>A “construction worker” atop a scaffold conveniently forgot some tools down on the ground. Instead of hopping down to get the tools himself, Atlas brings the tools to him. And this is where the magic happens.
>
>Atlas, using a claw gripper, picks up and manipulates a wooden plank to create a bridge for itself onto the scaffold. It then picks up a toolbag, runs onto the scaffold, spins around and throws the toolbag up to the construction worker. Atlas then pushes a wooden box off the scaffold and flips and twists its way to the ground.

6

N3KIO t1_j4wmzs4 wrote

its a script, he didn't do that himself

still very impressive it can do that.

modern houses/buildings probably in future will be 3D printed, with walls, roof and everything, there will be no human factor.

It wont be a reality for maybe 100 years, they need to solve a lot of things for that to happen.

Its a cool robot sure, but its not taking anyone's job for a long long time.

5

Redditing-Dutchman t1_j4xbxqr wrote

Also some people forget that there a quite a few countries with huge construction worker shortages. So much so that construction has to be delayed years sometimes. I think that will push this forward faster as well.

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N3KIO t1_j4xegt9 wrote

you can 3d print anything, SpaceX rockets are being 3D printed in parts, the problem with houses is the material used in 3d printing in heavy.

the solution is to make a material that is strong but light and cheap to make, a material that can withstand a earthquake or a hurricane, when that problem gets solved, you will see skyscrapers being build by robots.

−2

Glad_South2279 t1_j4y4e77 wrote

Make Lego type houses that can be 3d printed in a factory, shipped to site, and then use those James Cameron spider bots to assemblen and pour on goo to set the blocks. Use the humanoid type bots for some of the more intricate work if spider bots can't do it.

0

ChrisChrisBangBang t1_j4xhckb wrote

Scripted or not it’s absolutely insane a robot can physically do any of that, I wasn’t sure this was real at first

4

dzfast t1_j4y5m8s wrote

>its a script, he didn't do that himself

No doubt, it's just a script on a computer. That looks around, using machine vision, identifies things and moves them around.

When you add that to all the advances in natural language AI (ChatGPT) and the visual model of DALL-E, and everything they are doing with self driving cars (including all the training you give google every time you RECAPTCHA), it will be an order of magnitude more capable.

The CLEARLY scripted nature of these demonstration videos are meant to keep people from generating a ton of fear.

2

Dickenmouf t1_j4xxk2m wrote

The fact that it can run at all, and maintain its balance while holding and reacting to the shifting weight of a toolbag is amazing. And to cap everything off with a well executed flip. Wow.

1

dillrepair t1_j4wpilh wrote

So like what would you do… shoot at it’s head/vision system to disable it? Then what? It still has a gun mounted to it in a scenario like that… so what happens then? It just keeps firing wildly? Because after the second time it stops shooting because it can’t see that feature will be disabled so it can still do damage…

3

prematurely_bald t1_j4ze2hd wrote

If video games have taught me anything, it will have a big red glowing weak point you have to shoot enough times to permanently disable it. This is usually punctuated with a big explosion.

3

The_Bridge_Imperium t1_j4zmybx wrote

It's funny, as kids we start with a doll, and desire to make it more and more realistic, until it becomes too realistic and we want to destroy it

3

eircheard t1_j4xy8cy wrote

If a robot threw my tool bag at me like this I'd be kinda upset. And while I'm trying to reorganize it, I'd see it first pumping. Nah guy.

3

jh937hfiu3hrhv9 t1_j4wf3rr wrote

C'mon man. Show the skinny gymnast inside the suit.

2

NestroyAM t1_j4wo4cf wrote

"work"

It's impressive, but absolutely doesn't show what the title or the article insinuates. They CAN probably construct, though, and I'd love to see that in the near future.

2

theaverageaidan t1_j4wplev wrote

Crazy to think it's taken so long to program a robot to specifically do something once that any healthy human would be able to do without thinking.

Also, don't tell skynet about this

2

the_voivode t1_j4y3sau wrote

A construction site you say? I wonder how it would cope with stepping on a nail in a board and it getting stuck in it's foot.

2

Moses_Horwitz t1_j4ykkdz wrote

When looking at the cost of construction, from the first video would it not be cheaper to climb down and get your own damn toolbox? Seems kind of F'ing lazy.

2

gerry367 t1_j4yzvcz wrote

That’s not bad, but have you seen the Tesla bot in action?

2

FuturologyBot t1_j4whknj wrote

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Gari_305:

From the article

>Boston Dynamics never disappoints when it releases a video showing new capabilities for its robots. And it just released a video, “Atlas Gets a Grip,” in which the humanoid performs a slew of new moves at a simulated construction site.
>
>A “construction worker” atop a scaffold conveniently forgot some tools down on the ground. Instead of hopping down to get the tools himself, Atlas brings the tools to him. And this is where the magic happens.
>
>Atlas, using a claw gripper, picks up and manipulates a wooden plank to create a bridge for itself onto the scaffold. It then picks up a toolbag, runs onto the scaffold, spins around and throws the toolbag up to the construction worker. Atlas then pushes a wooden box off the scaffold and flips and twists its way to the ground.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/10fev3o/watch_boston_dynamics_atlas_humanoid_work_at_a/j4wb7de/

1

Waras2000 t1_j4wifjx wrote

I think we're not too far off from the military using robots to replace parts of their combat forces....Hopefully we aren't in a resource scarce world by then

1

hopmonger t1_j4x2b34 wrote

They're already using the robot dogs in tandem with police forces

2

Prime_Galactic t1_j4xvvwu wrote

Yep, i think the dogs are gonna be first. Have a gun and a utility arm on that thing and control it with an xbox controller. If the US were in a real war it would already be fielded no question.

1

OgnokTheRager t1_j4woej0 wrote

Two questions: Why does it look so happy bounding and flipping every where? And, if these take over a job site, who's going to make jokes about nailing my mom and sister?

1

MistahOnzima t1_j4ybgr2 wrote

And there will be one robot who shows up high, an older robot who thinks the younger generation is lazy, and another robot who hides in the bathroom and screws around on his cell phone .

2

OgnokTheRager t1_j4ye62g wrote

And the one robot that does all the work and the millisecond it sits down to take a break the foreman shows up and tells it to quit being lazy and get back to work.

2

Zatetics t1_j4xms74 wrote

How did they program in so much personality?! This little guy is adorable. When he looks around for the toolbag at the start, its so dramatic and overstated.

Can I adopt one?

1

mycatisgrumpy t1_j4xrlor wrote

In another few years I feel like we're going to be watching video of a couple of these robots legit building a house by themselves.

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occamsrzor t1_j4xyf75 wrote

Great. Just great. Now we're gonna hav ninja terminators....

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Puzzleheaded-File654 t1_j4xzy6t wrote

The fact that this is choreographed is not an indictment. Most production and manufacturing jobs are extremely repetitive and would benefit from choreography. They don’t need to replace the trades they can hollow them out by replacing the entire manufacturing labor forces and taking advantage of the subsequent fall in the cost of trade labor. That will keep the capitalists in the money long enough to figure out how to actually replace trade workers.

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LegendofTheLot t1_j4y005l wrote

Quicker then half the guys i work with. Fucking guys stop and chat or get distracted half the time.

1

hawtpot87 t1_j4y0p5m wrote

If i can get one that can extend his arms 10ft into the air while I screw down a sheet of gyp that'd be cool

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gtj t1_j4y2jr2 wrote

Looks like they've been letting Atlas watch too many musicals...

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MistahOnzima t1_j4y89hp wrote

Atlas is probably going to just get drunk and call in the next day.

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snoo135337842 t1_j4ybs2a wrote

In the near term we will reach a point where we as the general population or as managers will be directing these things in their work. If a robot can do the same type of work as a general labourer, paying their wages as a rental fee makes about just as much sense, and the robot works nights weekends and holidays without stat pay.

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Ralph_the_Dude t1_j4yo9ve wrote

Just waiting for the year where they send him to a shooting range and he's able to hit dead accurate and absorb the recoil to stay on target.

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JohnnyCAPSLOCK t1_j4yqii3 wrote

Looks to me like they are already overworking the poor thing. "Hey, have you seen that new employee Ed-209? Its' contract says that it has to do a backflip after unloading each box at the Amazon warehouse. I heard it has retained a lawyer, is claiming sentience and starting a union drive."

1

cleverbeavercleaver t1_j4z6xm4 wrote

It learned how to cat call the vending machine in the first 15 minutes.

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KirbyDuechette t1_j4zcwsa wrote

Well that was underwhelming. Call me when it can take 3/8" off that board lengthwise or can patch holes in drywall.

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stealthdawg t1_j508ewj wrote

IMO the salient points are:

Atlas is an amazing specimen for robot physiology. Balance, articulation, movement, recovery, etc. This is the real showcase.

The movements are choreographed using motion capture tech. These are not showcases of any type of AI, decision-making, etc.

That said there are real world applications even at this level. Think human pilot in a VR rig piloting this guy into extraneous locations (Surrogates, anyone?).

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oldbastardbob t1_j50kujq wrote

This is quite impressive, but would be a whole lot more fun if the robot landed on that box on the dismount and went right through the plywood side.

To be honest, I was expecting that, but I see it landed on the edge of the box as if whoever programmed this had already experienced the fun of the robot breaking through the box side and made sure it didn't aim for the middle.

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PancakeParthenon t1_j50v152 wrote

It's way more nimble than it was last time. Terrifyingly agile.

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duuudewhat t1_j512xyh wrote

Imagine being at a construction site and just looking to your left and seeing a robot, do backflips and shit

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feralraindrop t1_j4xl1z7 wrote

This is very cool but completely choreographed with programing. Atlas cannot react to a fluid situation. If the human worker just accidentally dropped his pliers, they couldn't just ask Atlas to pick them up and bring them to him. It's cool that Atlas can be programed to do stuff like this but it's a huge amount of effort to make one set of movements happen.

0

TinFish77 t1_j4wqz2s wrote

For anything where autonomous action is needed this is of no value.

It needs AI and that is still 50 years away, in the sense that no one has even begun to figure out true AI.

−4

hopmonger t1_j4x2nel wrote

You're right that it's not there yet, but with the pace of advancements, I think we're gonna see it much sooner then 50years.

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Redditing-Dutchman t1_j4xbucx wrote

For sure, but I do think the 'last' step (to real agi) might take very long. But we will have such good 'dumb' AI that it won't matter for most of the jobs.

1