Watch: Google's robotics lab built a pet robot dog that can also do the dishes
Google owned company releases new robot called SpotMini.
Have you always wanted a pet that will help out around the house? Meet SpotMini, a robotic 'dog' that looks more like a giraffe. SpotMini can walk around the house, crawl under tables and do the dishes (or at least put them in the d and take out the trash. And it could even pass off as cute.
SpotMini is the latest creation of Alphabet's Boston Dynamics, known for its state-of-the-art robots. The video below displays SpotMini navigating a house, and making use of its clamp that turns it from an odd-looking pet into a highly functional robot.
Unlike some of Boston Dynamics' other creations, SpotMini is aimed squarely at the domestic consumer. It's not a product on sale yet, but the developers intentionally built it to be light, quiet and handy with household chores.
“SpotMini is one of the quietest robots we have ever built,” the company says in its video.
Bostony Dynamics' older dog-like bots were much heavier, sturdier creatures called BigDog and LS3 AlphaDog. The BigDog can throw objects, run at four miles per hour, clip slopes up, and remain balanced on mud, snow and rubble. LS3 AlphaDog is a rough terrain robot that can go anywhere a soldier could go, on foot. It follows its leader using computer vision, so it doesn’t need a driver, and travels to specific locations using terrain sensing and GPS.
The robotics firm is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Google first acquired it in 2013.
