Military-intended robots may show off tricks at circus

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Military-intended robots may show off tricks at circus
This dog-like Boston Dynamics SpotMini robot could become an attraction at your favourite circus.

Boston - 'Spot' a nimble robot that climbs stairs and traverses rough terrain with unprecedented ease, yet is small enough to use indoors

By AP

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Published: Sat 28 Sep 2019, 10:01 PM

Last updated: Sun 29 Sep 2019, 4:03 PM

Animal-like robots that started out as a military-funded research project might be shipped off to the circus instead of the battlefield. Cirque du Soleil says it's in talks with robot maker Boston Dynamics about using the four-legged Spot robot in its live shows.
The agile robots walk, gallop and jump. They have become famous on YouTube but haven't been applied commercially since the company was founded in 1992.
That's changing this fall. The Waltham, Massachusetts robotics firm revealed in a YouTube post this week that Spot is now in mass production and shipping to select customers for such uses as monitoring construction sites or inspecting energy facilities. Cirque du Soleil says it's still in the "ideation" stage and evaluating Spot's potential in live entertainment.
Spot, according to Boston Dynamics' website, is a nimble robot that climbs stairs and traverses rough terrain with unprecedented ease, yet is small enough to use indoors. It is built to be a rugged and customisable platform and autonomously accomplishes industrial sensing and remote operation needs.


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