A pack of 10 robot dogs march in perfect unison on a stretch of land with a slight incline, demonstrating their jaw-dropping strength by hauling a huge truck behind them.
These powerful and agile four-legged robots, dubbed as the SpotMini, are expected to be sold commercially.
In the minute-long video uploaded by Boston Dynamics on YouTube, the company shows a peek at the incredible capabilities of their new SpotMini robots, which will soon be available for a range of applications.
The SpotMini
According to Boston Dynamics, the SpotMini is 55 pounds (25 kilograms) without its detachable arm and 66 pounds (30 kilograms) with the arm. This 5-degree-of-freedom arm, which is a new addition to the company's robots, allows the SpotMini to pick up objects and handle them.
The all-electronic robot is reportedly the quietest robot in the Boston Dynamics lineup, and every charge yields roughly 90 minutes of activity.
While it is compact and mobile, the robot dog is obviously extremely strong with each 2.75-foot SpotMini boasting a payload of 30 pounds (14 kilograms). It is built with 17 joints.
Boston Dynamics has also equipped it with a multitude of sensors, including stereo cameras, depth cameras, an IMU, and position/force sensors in the limbs, all of which reportedly help with navigation and mobile manipulation.
The Pack Of SpotMini Robot Dogs Will Become An Army
Tech Crunch reports that Boston Robotics founder and CEO Marc Raibert spoke at the TC Sessions, revealing that the company is slated to start production of the robot dogs in July or August. At the moment, betas are still coming off the assembly line for testing and redesigns.
Pricing is set to be revealed in the summer of 2019.
While release is still a couple of months away, Boston Robotics have big plans for their small robot dogs.
Back in 2018, Raibert told the audience at the CeBIT Computer expo in Hanover, Germany, that the company is already testing SpotMini in potential clients from the industries of security, delivery, construction, and home assistance.
"We've built 10 by hand, we're building 100 with manufacturers at the end of this year, and in the middle of 2019, we're going to begin production at the rate of about 1,000 a year," Raibert said about SpotMini at the time.
How Social Media Feels About Robot Dogs
If this eerily feels like the beginning of a Black Mirror episode, plenty of people online had the same idea.
"Now just put the 'The Imperial March' from Star Wars as background music and you are good to go," one user responded to the YouTube video.
"Soon, we will be pulling that sleigh for them," another user predicted.
As usual, no one does "awwww..." to "OH GOD WHY?!?! THEY WILL MURDER US ALL!" quite as quickly as Boston Dynamics. — Clint Sears (@clintisawesome) April 16, 2019
Remember that sound for when they come for us, and you have to remember whether you were nice to the robot central intelligence, or not. — Just this hotel guy, you know? (@HHotelConsult) April 16, 2019
Ever since I watched Black Mirror I cannot see these robot dogs as anything but evil impersonated — Maritza Jordan (@mj621_pr) April 18, 2019
