Our new overlords will have rhythm

[Shaun @ Tru6]

[pwd72s]

Both funny..and a bit scary

[Ziggythecat]

That just kept getting better and better...I can’t believe that’s real

[A930Rocket]

Those stand up robots are amazing!

[Fast Freddy 944]

Robots are cool, unless they are hacked, or the programmer has bad intentions. After seeing these machines, ya might have a problem if they are in full attack mode. Good luck out there..

[dewolf]

I'd imagine they'd have some crazy internet security to keep the Chinese out.

[Fast Freddy 944]

Originally Posted by dewolf

I'd imagine they'd have some crazy internet security to keep the Chinese out.

We Mericans dont worry about chinese hackers, hell we got plenty of em here. And they all have bad intentions, the bad guy hackers that is.

[Pazuzu]

Somehow that company is only valued at $1 billion. The work they're doing (publicly...) seem to be worth much more than that. They're scary as hell, but wickedly good at what they do. And, that presuming that they're not secretly working on the *really* wild stuff for the military or something...

[vash]

No big deal. I’ll just oil down the linoleum behind me and run away.

Then I’ll block out the sun. ...wait

[IROC]

I have some insight into what is required from a design standpoint to allow this kind of performance and I am astounded at what these guys are doing. One of the challenges is that each joint requires forces to be applied to move, right? Well, the exact magnitude of those forces needs to be constantly adjusted by complex software algorithms using force-feedback from that same joint. That force-feedback mechanism is challenging in and of itself, but when you consider that we're not just taking about one joint here - we're talking about a system of many joints with multiple (and different) degrees of freedom that are all working together to control movement, CG, etc.

Incredible.

To me, the only thing limiting these things from taking over the world is battery technology.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by IROC

To me, the only thing limiting these things from taking over the world is battery technology.

Yep, the power cells will be the big limiting factor for them for many years to come. I wonder how far could one of them go from a charging station? Like a battery operated car, it has to be recharged, or refueled in a pretty short time.

I have seen some robots with a IC engine so they are noisy, but longer range than all battery, and can be refueled quicker. I wonder how long it will be before we see one standing at the gas station topping up the tanks.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Yep, the power cells will be the big limiting factor for them for many years to come.

Don't be so sure

Small fuel cells FTW. ONR, AFRL, DARPA, etc. have made incredible progress.

Depending on the DoD budget, we may get to fly one on a small UAS in 2022.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Don't be so sure

Small fuel cells FTW. ONR, AFRL, DARPA, etc. have made incredible progress.

Depending on the DoD budget, we may get to fly one on a small UAS in 2022.

Our RTGs only produce a small amount of power - but for a very long time. The power demands by the robots must be huge.

[GH85Carrera]

I am not even remotely an expert, but I do I have an idea of the power needed. Humans, and all animals rely on food as a energy source. Humans in particular are truly astonishing on endurance and how far they can run. A group of natives Indians in Mexico hunted deer by just chasing them down until the deer fell over from exhaustion. A race held in England is against men on foot against men riding horses. It is about 50-50 as to the winners of men on horses vs a man just running cross country long distances.

I have to just guess that it requires several HP of energy to make something like those robots walk or run. Just powering up to run the computers drains power faster than a laptop computer. It has to have a zillion power using sensors, and then the motors that power the motors for movement.

I imagine they measure the power consumption of the robots in The kilowatt-hours. Those robots have to suck some power. And that power has to be cooled, as all energy conversion produces waste heat.

I think it was Neil deGrasse Tyson that calculated that a "real" Terminator's power use would require a cooling radiator much bigger than the terminator itself just to operate from the heat generated by running. Everyone knows the Tesla has a water cooled battery, a big cooling system.

Maybe I am way off base, but I suspect it will be many more decades before one of those robots has a functional run time of more than an hour or two.

[fastfredracing]

Every time I watch those videos, I find myself looking for the weak spot, and how I would take them out if I had to .

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Every time I watch those videos, I find myself looking for the weak spot, and how I would take them out if I had to .

I suspect a bullet or two to the center mass or a knee would stop them quickly. Just like a human.

[GH85Carrera]

Maybe we can all get lucky and have the robots all programed with Issac Asimov's three laws of Robotics. Then we can relax.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I suspect someone is developing a low durometer epoxy Kevlar, or similar skin for these guys.

I was 5 years ago for a special project.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Maybe I am way off base, but I suspect it will be many more decades before one of those robots has a functional run time of more than an hour or two.

Yeah, I agree. You hit on a lot of the right things. And...you're right - things like heat rejection are important. They appear to have solved that as the joints (motors), etc. are probably reaching steady state now (at whatever duty cycle they are specifying) but I think the question is how long they can sustain.

My knowledge of this stuff is close to non-existent, but it seems most (all?) batteries are essentially chemical reactions. Just the process of charging/discharging has heat and other considerations. Plus, there are limiting rates of charge/discharge. Nothing is simple and Mother Nature is cruel.

In the end, I think we are safe from these robots for a while. We'll just outrun them.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by IROC

Our RTGs only produce a small amount of power - but for a very long time. The power demands by the robots must be huge.

You and Glen below are right except his time line. I am no expert but we watch all innovations in power generation very closely. Heat is the issue and that is being addressed, especially in the power realm.

Also, and I know you do, hybrid approaches, especially for UAS, are being flown every day.

There are huge amounts of dollars in the power generation realm...endurance in UAS/robots is tantamount and is what makes them different. Endurance is the game changer.