Boston Dynamics, an American company specializing in robotics, published Tuesday, December 29, 2020 an impressive video of which it has the secret. The two-minute sequence, broadcast on the occasion of the end of the year celebrations, features three of its star robots: the Spot quadruped, two Atlas humanoids and the Handle two-wheeler, as recounted by our colleagues from France Info Wednesday, December 30.
The four acolytes engage in a real ballet which could make some professional dancers pale. Agility, finesse, grace, technique… Robots perform amazing movements, but also a bit worrying, especially for all those who remain convinced that ever more intelligent robots will eventually gain the upper hand over humans.
Hollywood has taken it to the extreme, but robots aren’t bad.
The founder of Boston Dynamics, Marc Raibert, however, wants to be reassuring: “I think that one of the fears is that the robot makes a mistake and goes into something. It can happen just like a car accident. Another fear is that robots will get so smart that they will be mad at us. I don’t think that is realistic today. Hollywood has taken it to the extreme, but robots aren’t bad. Unlike people, they have no emotions, ego or ambition, ”said this former professor at MIT in November 2011 to Agence France-Presse.
Founded in 1992, the American company was bought by Google in 2013, then sold in 2017 to the Japanese group SoftBank. In the past, it has benefited from research programs in the military field, notably through the US Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects (Darpa).
Read also Phebe – Education: in the face of robots, let’s protect ourselves
