#HTE

Boston Dynamics’ New Dog-Giraffe Hybrid Robot Has a Hideaway Arm for a Head

Now that they’ve mastered disgruntled humanoid robots that can curse, Boston Dynamics has turned their attention back towards emulating the animal kingdom. Their latest creation serves as a demonstration to the world that when playing God—or is that playing dog—a robot manufacturer needn’t hew to the laws of biology. They can, for instance, create a dog-bot that has a fifth limb and claw instead of a proper neck and head.

Called SpotMini, this dog-giraffe hybrid can perform some rather impressive tricks:

How terrifying are those final few seconds of the video? When handing over the can, the robot’s don’t-drop-stuff software seems confused as to whether it should release it or struggle to retain it. It pursues the can a little too persistenly for my tastes, and while that engineer might be smiling as he gets himself out of harm’s way, I’m convinced that at least a couple of drops of pee came out.