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Good luck sleeping tonight after you watch this creepy robot dancing

Published Mar 12th, 2018 6:32PM EDT
Robot Dog Video

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Robotics and AI are two off the hottest segments of tech right now, so it stands to reason that there are plenty of companies out there doing their best to combine them. When they do, however, the results keep getting more and more creepy. We recently saw a pair of videos from Boston Dynamics, one that featured a robot dog opening a door for another robot dog, and a second where the robot dog tries to open a door while a human physically abuses it. Yes, this will be the video we all look back to when the robot uprising finally arrives.

Robot beating aside, the robot dog featured in these clips it haunting in its creepiness. And as it turns out, Boston Dynamics isn’t the only company building creepy new AI robots.

A company called ANYmal Research has been developing the ANYmal Robot for quite some time now. Here’s how the robot is described on the company’s website:

ANYmal is a quadrupedal robot designed for autonomous operation in challenging environments. Driven by special compliant and precisely torque controllable actuators, the system is capable of dynamic running and high-mobile climbing. Thanks to incorporated laser sensors and cameras, the robot can perceive its environment, accurately localize, and autonomously plan its navigation path and carefully select footholds while walking. ANYmal carries batteries for more than 2 h autonomy and can carry up to 5-10 kg additional payload. With a weight of less than 30 kg, ANYmal can be easily transported and deployed by a single operator. ANYmal is designed for real-world usage and is water- & dust-proof (IP67) and impact robust.

Yes, it sounds pretty awesome. But the ANYmal has reached a new phase in its development, and it’s apparently the phase where this quadrupedal robot needs to learn how to dance autonomously.

“ANYmal carries an onboard microphone with which music can be perceived,” the company explained in the description of its new video on YouTube. “The beat of the music is analyzed and a suitable sequence of dance motions is choreographed. The desired and real motion trajectories are compared such that the delay between music and motion can be minimized.”

The tech that we’re seeing demoed in this video is obviously very interesting, but that doesn’t make it any less haunting. You’ll find the full video embedded below.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.