Robotic Pack Mule

[Dark Nation]

Called the Big Dog. I think I remember posting about this once before on here, but I can't find the thread.

Anyway, what follows is the second version. Creepy-looking, but cool.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mmVaLp8icoU

[rock_nog]

Oh gee, thanks - do you know how long it took me to get over the original video? The damn thing just disturbs me. It just looks... alive. Which is actually very impressive, technologically speaking, but it doesn't change the fact that it's creepy as all get-out.

[Aegix Drakan]

:o

WTF?!? That's just...creepy...

[FirstWizZedd45]

When I first started watching the video, I would agree... creepy as hell! But the more I watched it, I just think that thing is so freakin' cool. I like how they show in the video the team testing the Big Dog out on so many different types of environments.

I would definately like to see the original, see how different the new model is.

[rock_nog]

The original looks pretty much the same - the primary difference is that this video demonstrated far more "real world" tests... Climbing up hills and that sort of thing. The original video shows it in a more controlled environment - in a lab, in a parking lot, etc. Plus, this video actually showed it hauling a load.

What bothers me most is the way it reacts when kicked. I mean, it really looks like some sort of weird animal that just got kicked. This video had an even more disturbing scene, though, when it nearly falls on the ice. The way it struggled to maintain its balance was just way too lifelike.

[FirstWizZedd45]

Yeah! That particular scene was pretty weird. It reacted exactly how a person or animal would when it falls on ice, what with using it's "knees" or "elbows" to get back up. I'll agree that it looked pretty bizarre. Still cool though!

[Pineconn]

Regardless of the... weirdness of the video, you have to admit that's a good piece of technology. I mean, that thing is just so lifelike.... This beats the robotic snake posted about a week and a few days ago.

[rock_nog]

Oh, no doubt... I've always been a huge fan of artificial intelligence, and this is absolutely incredible. I mean, the sheer fact that it has passed well into the Uncanny Valley in itself (which is the reason it seems so creepy - it's clearly not alive, but it clearly acts alive) is an astounding achievement. Sure, usually the Uncanny Valley is seen as a bad thing, but that's because it's generally used in reference to CGI movies - in this case, function trumps form - doesn't matter if it looks creepy, it's more important that it displays lifelike intelligence in navigating difficult terrain.

In a way, makes me think of AT-AT walkers. I mean, it basically serves the purpose of an AT-AT walker, but on a much smaller scale. I keep imagining what that would look like, an enormous AT-AT walker built around this concept.