Boston Dynamics’ Robotic Dog Can Now Play the Saddest Futuristic Game of Fetch

Boston Dynamics promises itsimpressive Spot robot can do a slew of things , but as we can see in the company ’s latest demonstration , replace the kinsfolk pet is n’t one of them . Even with unbelievable autonomy , innovative sensors , and an articulated arm instead of a psyche and neck , billet manages to make a fun interaction like asimple biz of fetch looklike an punishing job .

In the company ’s defence , at no full stop has Boston Dynamics ever lay Spot as a replacement for Rover or Old Yeller , despite the fact that the four - legged robot look close to the same size as a German Shepherd and other large dog breed . In its initial rollout , Spot was only made uncommitted to aselect issue of companieswho proposed unparalleled industrial job for the robots , and to the best of our knowledge , none of those necessitate fetching the morning composition or protecting junk yard . As adorable as it may depend , Spot is first and foremost a utilitarian robot .

That does n’t imply Spot is all work and no play . One of the robot ’s most utile features is its power to learn custom tasks and skills using image realization power by machine learning . In a manufacturing plant setting , for example , it can be easily taught to navigate a place and find gauges or other display and autonomously snap images for outback monitoring . But in anew tutorial useable on the Boston Dynamicsdeveloper website , the company shares how Spot can also be trained to roleplay fetch , just like a real puppers .

Gif:Boston Dynamics

There ’s some custom programming ask , which Boston Dynamics has provided , but the most time - eat up part , perchance even more prison term - consuming than teach a genuine dog to dally fetch , is work up up a database of images captured by Spot ’s camera to be used to cultivate a machine - learning exemplar . They all have to be manually labeled so Spot knows the desired behaviour , like picking up an physical object only when it ’s set down on the ground , not while it ’s soaring through the air .

The result is definitely a game of fetch , but perchance more akin to one recreate with a senior dog . It ’s interesting to see the puppy putting in the drive and succeeding , but not on the nose a play activity for all involved . You ’re right off relieve your $ 74,500 ( plus the extra cost of that pronounce arm accessory ) and bribe a existent wiener , or hiring someone on TaskRabbit to convey a joint for you .

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Image: Boston Dynamics