If you’re holding off on getting a dog because they’re just too cute, you’ll want to watch the above short video from Boston Dynamics, posted to YouTube on Monday. Yep, that’s a robot… headless dog? Yellow trotting horse? Sign of the apocalypse? SpotMini is many things, but cute and furry aren’t in the conversation.
SpotMini isn’t brand new — it was introduced in 2016 — but this is a more refined version, which seems to have dispensed with the idea of a head. Its appearance is more friendly and less Terminator-like, although that bit nine seconds into the video where it stops and stares right into the camera is unnerving for sure.
You may remember SpotMini from this memorable recent video, where it shares the stage with a humanoid robot named Atlas who takes a classic tumble. And its big brother was rejected by the Marines for being too loud.
SpotMini weighs 25-30 kg (55-66 pounds) and is all-electric, able to run for up to 90 minutes on a charge. The company describes it as, “a nimble robot that handles objects, climbs stairs, and will operate in offices, homes and outdoors.”
Don’t count on nabbing one in time to prance around your Christmas tree. Right now there’s no info on price or availability. “For more information… stay tuned,” the company teases.
But some of us just can’t get Skynet out of our heads.
if you cut all of the Boston Dynamics robot videos together it’s a perfect montage to start a new Terminator movie
— jumbo capelet (@markpopham) November 13, 2017
