Friday 17th September 2021

Hyundai puts robot dogs to work in factory

Takeover of Boston Dynamics has apparently paid immediate dividends in South Korea

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We see a lot of concepts in this industry. Lots of big ideas, silly gimmicks, and the promise of things to come. So when some nugget of technology does materialise in the real world to be used in real things, it's a nice surprise.

You'll remember us talking about Boston Dynamics - those yellow robot dog things - a couple of months ago, and how the company has been acquired by Hyundai. Its goal was to help "enable progress for humanity", which again sounds promising - but what exactly they were going to be used for except funny YouTube videos was still to be seen.

It's exciting, then, to see that Spot and team are finally being let off the leash and put to work, taking on a pilot operation at Kia's factory in South Korea to help with site safety.

The 'Factory Safety Service Robot' - don't think that'll fit on the collar - is complete with AI, autonomous navigation, teleoperational technologies and a computing payload developed by the Robotics Lab, meaning it can now complete actual helpful tasks.

For example, a thermal camera and some sort of laser can detect people, high-temperature apparatus and even monitor fire situations, broadcasting all the data and live video back to the bosses in an office somewhere else. Their usual tricks of opening and closing doors still remains, too. The AI tech is programmed to detect other dangers and warning signs - a bit like a big, metal canary down a mine shaft - and the operators can regain control whenever needed to take matters into their own hands.

Understanding the capabilities of these things can be a little tricky, but helpfully, there's another creepy video that shows the future demise of the human employment and use. Anyway, happy Friday fellow robot underling.

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[DrivingTestInAVest]

no manual? fail.

[mynameistim]

Is there a link to the video?

[FourWheelDrift]

mynameistim said:

Is there a link to the video?

[LordFlathead]

Pah!

• The battery won't have the range
• They are bad for the environment
• They don't even look like dogs
• The build quality sucks
• There's not enough charging points
• They will never catch on
• They're too expensive

/Pistonheads

[Triumph Man]

Is that because if they were real they would be eaten?

[Stumason10]

In the near future someone will time travel back from the future and shoot that dog. Skynet here we come!

[Twinair]

You can’t teach a new dog, old tricks…

[anonymous-user]

So billions of dollars, to make a factory cat.

Technology for technology sake.

[CoolHands]

It’s just a gimmick to keep themselves in the news. Useless. They’re a bit like Elon musk in the self promotion game.

[anonymous-user]

CoolHands said:

It’s just a gimmick to keep themselves in the news. Useless. They’re a bit like Elon musk in the self promotion game.

Well so far these dogs haven't killed anyone.

[David87]

Hopefully they won’t be eaten.

[GTRene]

so now those can replace or foolish dictator governments (in the near future) with those sort things, who we, only the trusted 'good' people can program...
away with faulty politics and bad globalist ;-)

[M.F.D]

The Spruce Goose said:

So billions of dollars, to make a factory cat.

Technology for technology sake.

The tech needs to start somewhere though. What appears to be useless today, might just be something great tomorrow.

[anonymous-user]

M.F.D said:

The tech needs to start somewhere though. What appears to be useless today, might just be something great tomorrow.

Loads of tech that is developed that goes no where.

[M.F.D]

The Spruce Goose said:

Loads of tech that is developed that goes no where.

Some does, some doesn't. Like it or not, robots and AI are only going to become more capable and will slowly slide into domestic living over time.

[anonymous-user]

M.F.D said:

Some does, some doesn't. Like it or not, robots and AI are only going to become more capable and will slowly slide into domestic living over time.

Like the Tesla AI that kills people? Because you think it will happen doesnt mean it will. There are a lot of people who don't want full technology due to the lack of failsafes.

https://theconversation.com/why-the-feds-are-inves...

''As a researcher who studies autonomous vehicles, I believe the investigation will put pressure on Tesla to reevaluate the technologies the company uses in Autopilot and could influence the future of driver-assistance systems and autonomous vehicles.''

[sisu]

M.F.D said:

Some does, some doesn't. Like it or not, robots and AI are only going to become more capable and will slowly slide into domestic living over time.

So you are a car company that bought 1.1billion dollars worth of robotic dogs, like a cubical guy using an RC car to carry a piece of paper around the office. This is not the future it is someone buying a gadget, then looking for a use for it.

At least this beat the Chinese gaming company that used 1500 drones to make a QR code in the sky that no one could use in terms of douchiness.

[M.F.D]

The Spruce Goose said:

Like the Tesla AI that kills people? Because you think it will happen doesnt mean it will. There are a lot of people who don't want full technology due to the lack of failsafes.

https://theconversation.com/why-the-feds-are-inves...

''As a researcher who studies autonomous vehicles, I believe the investigation will put pressure on Tesla to reevaluate the technologies the company uses in Autopilot and could influence the future of driver-assistance systems and autonomous vehicles.''

I'm not all for the tech, and I am certainly no fan of Elon or Tesla. Some of the tech I think will be useful, some not so much. All I am saying is that as it improves/develops, it will become an integral part of our lives, like it or not. The robot dog thing is just an example of technology being introduced into the workplace. It needs to be developed/tested somewhere.

Like most on here, I prefer big V8's/turbo's/analogue stuff. But sadly that's not the future...

[Murph7355]

As bad as War of the Worlds they appeared in.

[CustardOnChips]

The Spruce Goose said:

M.F.D said:

The tech needs to start somewhere though. What appears to be useless today, might just be something great tomorrow.

Loads of tech that is developed that goes no where.

These robots are also being used to do inspections on construction sites during the night. And also being used in places conventional robots can't and people don't want to go.

These aren't going away. Some of the stuff Boston Dynamics is doing is incredible, and on the verge of a massive shift in robots taking over the world.