Google’s Robot Dog Drives Real Dog Crazy

Robot dog (jurvetson / Screenshot / YouTube)
jurvetson / Screenshot / YouTube

A recently released video shows a robot “dog” named Spot confronting a real Terrier named Cosmo in a San Jose parking lot–and driving the real dog crazy.

Spot was built by Boston Dynamics, “Google’s robotic arm.”

Popular Mechanics describes the confrontation, giving a play-by-play of how “[Cosmo] sees Spot, then proceeds to refuse to let Spot run. Spot tries to evade the more agile companion to little to no success before just kind of laying down and giving up, which doesn’t stop the verbal harangue from its flesh and blood counterpart.”

CBS SF quotes “technology forecaster” Paul Saffo, who watched the video of the robot dog confronting the real one and described it as “cute,” but said the robot “was really more of novelty than anything for now.” Saffo added, “The Boston dynamics technology is really fascinating, but it is a long, long way from commercial production. It’s still essentially a research project.”

While there is no specific application for Spot at this point, CBS SF points to technology site Engadget.com, where it was reported that the military is weighing the option of using the robot dog for “ground reconnaissance.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

 

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