Comments on: Agile robots, dexterous robots (with videos) http://metamodern.com/2009/08/27/agile-robots-dexterous-robots-with-videos/ The Trajectory of Technology Mon, 21 May 2012 05:21:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: hm http://metamodern.com/2009/08/27/agile-robots-dexterous-robots-with-videos/comment-page-1/#comment-4386 hm Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:29:12 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=4710#comment-4386 very good very good

]]> By: Eric Drexler http://metamodern.com/2009/08/27/agile-robots-dexterous-robots-with-videos/comment-page-1/#comment-1743 Eric Drexler Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:24:51 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=4710#comment-1743 I called the Big Dog video “disturbing” because I’ve shown it to a few people, and they were disturbed. The robotic hand video might not be as deserving of that description, but has some of that effect. This is probably culturally specific to a substantial extent. It seems that in the U.S., blurring the line between animate an inanimate bothers people more than it does in Japan, and I suspect that this is one of the reasons that Japan has excelled in robotics. They like them more. Note that Big Dog is sponsored by DARPA, and its descendants are intended for use on the battlefield; Big Dog itself is intended to be an early prototype of a mechanized ‘pack animal’ to carry supplies over rough terrain. Looking forward though, weaponization of ground robots looks inevitable, and this could develop in directions that are very unpleasant. Big Dog has already been <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptyV1cpE14o" rel="nofollow">weaponized</a> (warning: silly video). I called the Big Dog video “disturbing” because I’ve shown it to a few people, and they were disturbed. The robotic hand video might not be as deserving of that description, but has some of that effect.

This is probably culturally specific to a substantial extent. It seems that in the U.S., blurring the line between animate an inanimate bothers people more than it does in Japan, and I suspect that this is one of the reasons that Japan has excelled in robotics. They like them more.

Note that Big Dog is sponsored by DARPA, and its descendants are intended for use on the battlefield; Big Dog itself is intended to be an early prototype of a mechanized ‘pack animal’ to carry supplies over rough terrain. Looking forward though, weaponization of ground robots looks inevitable, and this could develop in directions that are very unpleasant.

Big Dog has already been weaponized (warning: silly video).

]]> By: Scott Jensen http://metamodern.com/2009/08/27/agile-robots-dexterous-robots-with-videos/comment-page-1/#comment-1739 Scott Jensen Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:44:22 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=4710#comment-1739 Why do you think these robots are "disturbing"? Why do you think these robots are “disturbing”?

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