Check out this video of Boston Dynamics’ new, less creepy robot

The SpotMini shows noticeable improvements on previous versions, despite limited information.

Boston Dynamics, formerly a Google company that was then purchased by SoftBank, just released a YouTube video featuring a shinier, newer version of the SpotMini robot, originally launched in June of 2016. Built as a chore bot, the SpotMini wasn’t great at the tasks it set out to do. The new version appears sleeker (The Verge compares it to a cross between a Pixar animation and a robot out of the Neill Blomkamp vision of the future) and is covered in luminous yellow plates to conceal the inner workings.

In the 24-second trailer, the SpotMini’s movement seems to have improved, too, and is now more fluid and weirdly life-like, resembling a headless dog in its upbeat gait and interaction with the camera, trotting up to it, looking in, and bouncing happily away. And, although Boston Dynamics is notorious for providing little information in the wake of new products, TechCrunch says that the new SpotMini appears to have the same underlying hardware as the first, with a new exterior that includes a pair of Kinect-style 3D cameras in place of eyes.  Read more...

Reference: Electronic Products, The Verge, TechCrunch, Engadget
                   Heather Hamilton
                   Image Source: Boston Dynamics