If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Somehow over Christmas I missed that the DARPA Robotics Challenge actually took place. You'll be pleased to hear that ED-209 won. And it's owned by Google. They've got the future under control.

[Incandenza]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Maybe it's just me, but when I look at that robot, my first reaction was "why is it walking backwards?"--the "legs" have a hinge that resembles a knee, so I was expecting it to be moving in the direction of the knees, like a human would. Of course, I know that they're robots and they don't need to mimic human physiology, but it still seemed "wrong" to me.

[evilC]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Incandenza wrote: Maybe it's just me, but when I look at that robot, my first reaction was "why is it walking backwards?"--the "legs" have a hinge that resembles a knee, so I was expecting it to be moving in the direction of the knees, like a human would. Of course, I know that they're robots and they don't need to mimic human physiology, but it still seemed "wrong" to me.

They've done that deliberately, so that - in the second or two it's taken you to work out which direction it's heading in - it's shot you.

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Maybe it's just me, but when I look at that robot, my first reaction was "why is it walking backwards?"--the "legs" have a hinge that resembles a knee, so I was expecting it to be moving in the direction of the knees, like a human would.

Because OmniCorp says so, that's why.

[evilC]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Google considers getting its own drones, higher and better than Amazon's.

They're not going to be used to spy on us at all ...honest!

[Stumpy Pepys]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

At least Google and Amazon are relatively up-front about using your information: it's the government you need to worry about.

Actually, is there a good economic argument for drones?

For a pizza takeaway, for example, would it be cheaper to use drones for delivery (and use less energy) than employing someone to ride a scooter around town? Ditto for anyone distributing goods from a warehouse.

(Someone will be along soon to tell me that pizza takeaways are doomed, because we'll be able to 3D print pizzas from home.)

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

And that someone is me.

[Slightly Brown]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Nothing says mm-mm-mmm like a well rendered "protein layer".

The comments are good. Dr_Spaceman, whom I'm assuming is an expert in this field, makes his feelings known: "It looks like a piece of square cardboard covered with garbage." Meow.

I'd still eat it, though.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

The pizza topping menu goes from the basic Margherita up to Soylent Green.

[Slightly Brown]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Evariste Euler Gauss wrote: The pizza topping menu goes from the basic Margherita up to Soylent Green.

I always thought the euthanasia clinic that Edward G. Robinson goes to was brilliant. Wall to wall daffodils and Mozart. You know he got a hand-job too.

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

"It looks like a piece of square cardboard covered with garbage."

Just like Pizza Hut!

[Stumpy Pepys]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Run for your lives! Here comes the robot kangaroo:

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

First they got the Terminators, now they've got the Hunter-Killers.

[evilC]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Ginger Yellow wrote: First they got the Terminators, now they've got the Hunter-Killers.

"...it could help bring Internet access to remote parts of the world as well as solve other problems."

They may as well have put "...errrmm," before "solve other problems"!

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Other problems like, say, the continued existence of meatbags.

[matt j]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

See Spot run. See Spot immanentise the eschaton.

[Incandenza]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Whoa, the stairs...

[evilC]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

'The Prisoner' springs to mind slightly!

[evilC]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

At least they're not making any bones about what this robot is meant to do.

So... if you'd always wanted the last thing you - or your loved one - would see to be a terrifying giant robotic bear, all your prayers are now answered.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Wow. I can't really collect my thoughts around that, but something has gone wrong somewhere (and I mean beyond the universal tragedy of the human condition).

[MsD]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

It's on snopes.com, as not true.

[Wouter D]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Here is a robot that definitely does exist, and I didn't know it before seeing the video, but I absolutely need one.

[evilC]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

This is terrifying in a different way, due to the stunning arse-about-face logic being applied to the situation.

[Ginger Yellow]

If you thought that DARPA robot dog was scary...

Watch the DARPA Robotics Challenge finals live this weekend.