Boston Dynamics Unveils AlphaDog Quadruped Robot 140
An anonymous reader writes "Boston Dynamics, the company that created the BigDog quadruped robot, has unveiled a new, bigger system called AlphaDog. AlphaDog, a DARPA-sponsored project, can carry a payload of 400 pounds for up to 20 miles without having to refuel, and it's also much quieter than BigDog. The robot is designed to assist humans in carrying heavy equipment over rough terrain, and Boston Dynamics' schedule has the first walk-out of AlphaDog taking place sometime in 2012, when U.S. Marines will begin to put the robot to the test for real."
Re: much quieter? (Score:4, Informative)
Let's call it GammaDog.
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And the name? - call it the "SCORPION" and load it up with Stinger and Scorpion missiles.
Or make a nano version, mass-produce them, and call them FIRE-ANT.
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I want one to ride! Give it a small four stroke engine, maybe a 900CC car engine, and away you go!
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A lot of that noise seems to be from the tethers that are carrying power to the device. It's obviously hooked up to a scaffold with a track or pulley system to support all of the wires.
Jesus fucking christ. (Score:5, Funny)
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Watch the movie ... turn down your sound (Score:1)
Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies. I assure you it will discourage warfare like nothing else.
Sounds like that's exactly what they're doing.
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Already done:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMVg5ixhd0&feature=player_detailpage#t=54s [youtube.com]
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Beware the battle cattle. -- Tabitha
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Here's a pic: (Score:5, Funny)
Ask and ye shall receive:
http://postimage.org/image/ock2ro5g/ [postimage.org]
Although I think that's the older BigDog model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMVg5ixhd0&feature=player_detailpage#t=54s [youtube.com]
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RPG (Score:2)
Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies. I assure you it will discourage warfare like nothing else.
Yeah cos they'll just line up for you. An RPG is much cheaper.
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Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies. I assure you it will discourage warfare like nothing else.
Not a problem. I've developed the Robotic Dog equivalent of a milk bone [howstuffworks.com]. Here Fido!
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I don't know what it is, but BigDog and AlphaDog unsettle me. They look like something out of Silent Hill. Maybe it's because their gait seems very unnatural, like a film that's run at double speed.
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Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies.
A robotic DevilDog? The Marines will love it.
Mental effect alone... (Score:1)
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P.S. Excellent work.
I am terrified (Score:2)
Watching it maintain its stance after being shoved the second time was un-nervingly reminiscent of a spider, but watching it get back up from its side was the icing on the terror-cake. I've already had awful visions of Asimo indefatigably running me down, now that thing's going to be pracing through my nightmares.
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The next evolutionary step is Asimo riding the AphaDog into battle.
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You finally chop off all of AlphaDog's legs with a fire axe, then it splits open like some horrible pinata and Asimo steps out and strangles you to death.
why not a mule (Score:3, Insightful)
A mule is a quadruped and can carry 200 pounds a lot farther than 20 miles. It has much better AI, it refuels with easily obtained biofuel, and in a crunch you can eat it!
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Ok Mr. Smartypants, how are they going to spend 10 million dollars on one of these "mules"?
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Put freakin' lasers on its head?
Mule is the new land-shark!
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Re:why not a mule (Score:4, Insightful)
On the other hand it won't walk continuously without rest or on-hand guidance towards an arbitrarily chosen remote destination, and it's not going to make your enemies crap themselves in horror.
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Remote control cyborg beetles [youtube.com] have electrode implants in strategic parts of their nervous system, allowing you to steer them around at your command, while taking advantage of the fact that bugs beat the hell out of microbots at flight performance.
A large mammal would presumably be more complicated; but(in principle), one could graft computerized guidance into something like a mule, allowing it to be steer
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But a mule is thousands of times cheaper (don't actually know how much the military pays for one of these, but I would guess it's in the millions, plus R&D costs). And providing fuel for the war in remote parts of Afghanistan is a huge cost, in money and lives (lots of troops die protecting fuel convoys). So it's really rather ridiculous to try to replace a mule with this thing, especially for a nation that is spiraling into financial disaster.
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But a mule is thousands of times cheaper (don't actually know how much the military pays for one of these, but I would guess it's in the millions, plus R&D costs). And providing fuel for the war in remote parts of Afghanistan is a huge cost, in money and lives (lots of troops die protecting fuel convoys). So it's really rather ridiculous to try to replace a mule with this thing, especially for a nation that is spiraling into financial disaster.
You can't mount big guns on the next generation of mules and remote control them from an island in the Indian Ocean
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You can't mount big guns on the next generation of mules and remote control them from an island in the Indian Ocean
Pfffffft. Lack of vision.
A true evil villain would mount big guns on mules anyway. Now to design a railgun that can fit in the saddle...
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Not with that attitude, anyways.
Re:why not a mule (Score:4, Insightful)
But a mule is thousands of times cheaper (don't actually know how much the military pays for one of these, but I would guess it's in the millions, plus R&D costs). And providing fuel for the war in remote parts of Afghanistan is a huge cost, in money and lives (lots of troops die protecting fuel convoys). So it's really rather ridiculous to try to replace a mule with this thing, especially for a nation that is spiraling into financial disaster.
Ever worked with a mule? There is a reason that the phrase "mule headed" exists. It takes a skilled handler to get mules to go where you want them to. In xstan, granted, there are probably lots of people with mule herding experience. When we invade Canada, not so much. Shoot at the mule, the mule goes the other way. Mule food is expensive and bulky and they don't do well on a diet of JP8. Want to drop a dozen mules out of a C17? Go ahead. We'll watch.
So there are reasons for Alpha dog, aside from the techno cool factor. Horses for courses, I suppose.....
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Mules are good if you are moving supplies day in day out. But if y
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Copyright and other IP mumbo-jumbo... what else? (Score:2)
Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment vehicle (MULE) [wikipedia.org] IS cancelled but Lockheed Martin probably still owns the name, the ideas and a bunch of other legalish things related to any army robots called mules.
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1) Better AI for now.
2) Relatively easy biofuel depending on the region, but this uses none when not in use. You always feed a mule.
3) Less of a PR fiasco if a robot dies compared to an animal.
Re:why not a mule (Score:4, Insightful)
A mule is a quadruped and can carry 200 pounds a lot farther than 20 miles. It has much better AI, it refuels with easily obtained biofuel, and in a crunch you can eat it!
Came here to say this.
I would add that a mule is nearly silent, which comes in handy when people with guns are looking for you.
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I just put "stubborn as a" into google and what do you think popped up?
http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=stubborn+as+a+ [google.com]
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And can a mule walk around on Mars or the Moon just as cheaply? How about dragging wounded out of a battlefield covered in nerve gas or simply full of noise and sound?
There are many advantages automata have over living creatures Not to mention that poo-pooing this kind of technology in its infancy is the most certain way to prevent developing even better stuff.
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1) Easily disabled (even a small glancing blow will be enough to make it unusable) ... "Hey, all my survival gear is getting away!").
2) Will run away at the first sign of violence (
3) Hard to train (stubborn as a what now?)
4) Noisy (I mean, silent as the grave, right up until the point it starts braying like a car horn)
Or perhaps the most important point- AlphaDog is designed by a robotics company, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Researching and developing complex new technologies i
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Actually you might be surprised on that last point. I was briefed a while back on some non-classified work DARPA is funding and some amazingly low tech and interesting ideas are in the pipe. During that meeting if they had mentioned a live mule research program, it wouldn't have seemed out of place.
We do use mules and horses (Score:2)
Special Forces in remote areas of Afghanistan for example.
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Strap an injured soldier onto a mule, tell it to return to base, and see what happens.
Or
Load up a mule with ammo and medical supplies, tell it to head to the unit 9 miles out into the desert, and see what happens.
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Why do you think the dept of defense wants stuff like this robot?
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Put a saddle on it (Score:1)
I wanna ride it up to the store, maybe slap an animatronic wolf head with glowing heat seeking eyes too.
I have a cheaper/better/faster alternative to this (Score:1)
I have a cheaper/better/faster alternative to this
It can go for miles, can refuel automatically off of native vegetation, can be taught new commands in the battlefield, and is self-replicating.
It's called a HORSE!
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Once the enemy deals with them, we can use the horses.
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Well, it may be cheaper. It could be faster. But horses require a lot of care and can easily be injured or killed.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_World_War_I [wikipedia.org]
Try self righting in terrain (Score:2)
While rolling to center will work on a cement floor, I'd like to see that trick done on a hillside in the weeds and trees.
Re:Try self righting in terrain (Score:4, Insightful)
Considering the current alternative is a radio flyer wagon, one could argue this is better than no self-righting option. Off-road jeeps aren't terribly easy to right, but they weigh considerably more, and don't have a self-righting mode.
.50 cal mounted machine gun on one of these things, or some sort of light artillery, so you can remotely place light artillery on top of a rocky hill, far from convenient roads. Self righting a walking vehicle designed to replace a 12,000 lb towed artillery gun/trailer and the truck needed to tow it, in the field - baking in a self-righting system this early in the design phase seems like a good idea, no matter how crude. You can always expand later. Many insects in my garden don't have a self-righting mechanism, so one might say we're already one-upping nature.
I can see dog and cow-sized versions of this on the battlefield in 10 years, but I think the ultimate goal is to put a
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About the only post so far which actually makes sense. The military plans on using these things to deliver ammo and pull the wounded on a stretcher from the front line. Talk is abound about .50 call support, light mortars, and possibly even something larger light a 20mm or 30mm cannon. Lots have dumbly stated a horse or a mule is a replacement for this but it absolutely is not. When you can give a GPS coordinate to a horse or a mule, have it travel that 8-10 miles in and 8-10 miles out, after delivering car
Mountable non-lethal suggestions? (Score:1)
I vote for a quad flash system that combines the power of 1,000 pro cameras to absolutely ruin the night vision of people walking around at night for hundreds of meters in all directions. Non-lethal, silent, and the soldiers can co-ordinate to look away/close eyes better than terrorists who HAVE to watch the men they are about to attack/ambush at night. Maybe even an invisible, infra red only version mixed in?
Nothing says 'run away' like a weird looking robot thing flashing the light of a hundred suns into
Mud and water (Score:1)
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Noise? (Score:1)
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AT-AT (Score:2)
Jump, doggie, jump! (Score:2)
That's not a dog. That's a burro. Dogs can jump. But seriously. Really cool bot. I hope they can program it to jump.
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BigDog can already jump, end of the video on this page has an example:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1168947/unbelievable_boston_dynamics_bigdog_march_08/ [metacafe.com]
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sweet!
Dog and Pony Show (Score:2)
Nice tech, but some of their claims are a bit of a stretch. It looks like a film demonstrating milestones to a sponsor. It's power comes via en umbilical cable and it rights itself on a level floor using plywood cams to do the roll and stop.
When compared to a donkey or mule, 4 legged robots have a long way to go. I live in Colorado and have done pack trips with animals. Here's what comes to mind:
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When compared to a donkey or mule, 4 legged robots have a long way to go. I live in Colorado and have done pack trips with animals. Here's what comes to mind:
- Animals are cheaper and can self replicate.
BigDogs won't be working day and night, animals need food (and water) constantly. They can self replicate, but it takes awfully long and takes animal out of service.
- Animals walk almost silently. Anything that stomps can be heard for miles.
Donkeys also make sounds. They are pretty noisy too.
- Animals can run pretty darn fast, and can cut and quickly dodge.
Try to convince a donkey to run 20 miles.
- Animals auto detect nearby predators and have more sensitive hear
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Horse production has a four-year lead time. To put this in perspective, if the United States had started ramping up horse breeding for a growing Army logistics need with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the first horses would be available about four months after Japan surrendered.
Immature vs. the competition's quiet carrier (Score:2)
Ball Bearings (Score:2)
It stood up (Score:1)
Did you guys see that? When it rolled over and stood up? Man it kind of freaked me out a little how good it was at that, considering how godamn heavy it must be.
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I thought it was kind of chunky just walking normally and might be supported by the umbilicus but once the guy starting shoving it sideways I got chills. It recovered just like an animal would. Very impressive.
Serious case of Uncanny Valley (Score:2)
The leg movement and stability control on that thing is unnerving. I think its a case of movement being the cause of an uncanny valley rather than appearance.
No wonder America invest so much Agains China.... (Score:2)
...China is getting Super Powerful, the HONEST way (I'm not Chinese btw...Scandinavian), but the point remains... ...logical thinking, quoting Boston Dynamics testing schedule:
" Boston Dynamics' schedule has the first walk-out of AlphaDog taking place sometime in 2012, when DARPA and the U.S. Marines will begin to put the robot to the test for real."
Yeah? 2012 eh? Something planned for us there big "old" brother?
Recapping for the weak of mind:
1) US. Was strong.
2) US. Wants oil.
3) US. Interferes with those c
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No, you would pack it like a donkey, and have pillion bags on the sides to carry the bulk of the weight. If you could lead it like an animal, then it could be very useful in rough terrain.
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You can see that at the end of the video.
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What if a big truck with batteries followed AlphaDog around with a tether?
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What if a big truck with a compressor followed AlphaDog around with a tether?
FTFY... the dogs are pneumatic.
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Haven't you heard? We're planning to save the economy by mining crystite ore from the planet Irata. [youtube.com]
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Clearly we should not do war research because there is no payoff.
Likewise we should boycott its products, so GTFO the internet.
non-sequitor (Score:2)
Clearly we should not do war research because there is no payoff.
AlphaDog would make a great wilderness rescue tool, or even a recreational vehicle. But our society values killing brown people in far-off lands who supposedly hate us for our freedoms more than rescuing hurt hikers.
The money funneled to DARPA could be redirected to these sorts of efforts for peaceful work today. An amount on the order of the entire personal income tax goes to the military industrial complex - imagine if people kept that mo
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Do you have any idea how much military-funding-created stuff is now available to the public?
Do you know how much richer society would be if WWII had actually ended? Rich societies invent things.
That's where your flying cars are. ~
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A) The average person becomes competent enough to drive one safely. Currently LAND vehicles are too much for most people...
B) We develop AI advanced enough to make up for A)
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