Revealed: Boston Dynamics’ latest dancing jumping robot (on wheels)
A new robot from Boston Dynamics, the Google/Alphabet-owned robot company, has accidently been revealed, and the agile creation can jump around… on wheels.
Handle, as the new robot is known, was shown in a video on stage by Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert, with VC Steve Jurvetson catching it on camera (and first spotted by Gizmodo).
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The robot is shown swiftly moving forwards and backwards, spinning round like a pirouetting ballet dancer. Handle demonstrates the impressive self-balancing technology of previous models, even jumping and landing on the wheels as smoothly as any human skateboarder. Raibert said the move from the human-like feet of previous models to wheels makes the robot more efficient.
We've previously seen the balancing skills of its Atlas robot, its ability to fend of bullies, and one woman even ran into the robot going for a walk in the woods while walking her dog.
And let's not forget the comedy value of SpotMini…
