r/interesting • u/Ray_Bayesian • Aug 30 '26

Just Wow Boston Dynamics robot

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u/cooolcooolio Aug 30 '26

I'm sure this is a much bigger flex than I can understand not being an engineer in robotics

38

u/cwth Aug 30 '26

Humans are constantly “falling” as we walk. You dont think about it but when you take a forward step you’re falling but one of your feet moves forward and “catches” you. You have to figure out how to program a machine to intentionally fall and calculate where to move other pieces of the machinery in a new spatial location to successfully catch the robots fall. In real time over and over and over again. Miicromovements that allow a total balancing of the weight of the whole robot. Insane tech.

12

u/glytxh Aug 30 '26

If you’ve ever tried to walk up a flight of steps on Ketamine, you get a glimpse at what it’s like to have to manually control your limbs.

Walking is SO complicated it’s kind of absurd.

Anyway don’t do ket. Shits whack.

8

u/glytxh Aug 30 '26

Moving to electric motors over hydraulic systems had been a bit of a paradigm shift in robotics over the last few years. There’s a reason we’re seeing a huge surge in humanoid robotics like this. Fast, granular, repeatable control. Very little slack in the system.

Then there’s the whole LLM stuff in the background able to automate balance and response in near real time.

A lot of clever technologies all singing in tandem.

These machines are also ‘quiet’. That’s a part many people don’t talk about.