Engineers at Boston Dynamics have created an all-electric robot for completing household tasks that is likely to elicit either terror or joy among the broader public.
SpotMini is the newest creation by a team of researchers at the Google Inc. subsidiary, Alphabet. The 55-pound robot is incredibly agile, requires no hydraulics, includes depth-sensing cameras and can run for 90 minutes before needing a charge.
A YouTube video uploaded by Boston Dynamics on Wednesday shows the SpotMini putting a dirty glass in a dishwasher, throwing out trash, effortlessly walking up stairs and picking itself up with an elongated neck after slipping on banana peels.
“This is adorable. I love the googly eyes on the end of the arm,” wrote one viewer.
“Terrifying as always. Nice job,” responded another.
The technology website Cult of Mac also weighed in on the new robot Thursday, calling it, “the world’s most expensive ’Beer Me’ machine.”
Boston Dynamics does not currently have plans to sell SpotMini to the public, but its success demonstrates proof of concept.
“We pride ourselves in building machines that are both innovative and actually work,” the company says on its website.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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