Robots [pics]

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/robots.html

by juliend2 • 17 years ago

106 19 17 years ago

speek2• 17 years ago

Maybe this could be the thing that brings back technology companies to Massachusetts? A big chunk (I'd say a majority, but I didn't count) of these robots are from companies in or around Boston (including my favorite BigDog from Boston Dynamics in Waltham).

Maybe we'll call it Robot Cove?

Edit: I do realize this is an article from boston.com...

jimbokun• 17 years ago

No, they will all come here to Pittsburgh to work with Red Whittaker and the CMU Robotics department.

At least, I'm hoping... :)

bitwize2• 17 years ago

I work in Boston's robotics industry. Business is actually pretty good, if not actually booming, the general shittiness of the economy notwithstanding.

speek2• 17 years ago

Where do you work? (If you don't mind me asking)

ZenzerNet• 17 years ago

Check out this video of Big Dog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJJQ0zNNOM

It's pretty creepy, when you imagine what's to come...

babo2• 17 years ago

How the robot deals with ice is incredible. Thanks for the link!

palish• 17 years ago

Also, here's a video of Big Dog's early predecessor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJZVZFRFJc

brl• 17 years ago

OMG!

When I started watching that I was thinking that if I was ever in a situation where this robot was chasing me uphill through a forest I would just run up to it and kick it over to slow it down. Then 30 seconds later they demonstrate how well you can expect that plan to turn out :)

bitwize2• 17 years ago

Looks really Metal Gear-ish, doesn't it? A bit like a quadrupedal GEKKO...

jrbedard• 17 years ago

I like the one with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the robotic arm. He probably gets Cyberdyn flashbacks from his movies.

wushupork• 17 years ago

I was just thinking the same thing. LOL

babo2• 17 years ago

Is the anybody out there doing robotics in a start-up or this is the playground of well funded research?

joeyo• 17 years ago

iRobot, who were once a start-up themeselves, recently bought Nekton Research, a start-up that made underwater robots. I suspect that most start-ups are spun out of the research world and have the military as their primary customers.

spydez• 17 years ago

Well, there is Trevor Blackwell (of YC), who started Anybots...

http://anybots.com/

atestu• 17 years ago

One of my teachers (Akim Demaille from Epita) leads a French start up whose aim is to unify the way we communicate with robots (sort of) : http://www.gostai.com/

jmtame• 17 years ago

Robotic Nation from Marshall Brain (the "how stuff works" guy)

Silentio• 17 years ago

Have we learned nothing? Don't name your robot HAL!

Eliezer• 17 years ago

Oh this is totally going to end up as a huge venture capital fad. 5 years? 20 years? Hard to say exactly when.

After that, it's totally going to hit the world like a sack of bricks.

albertcardona• 17 years ago

The Toyota trumpeters approached the uncanny valley. They have an "X-files" alien species look to me.

Robots [pics]

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