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The newest robot from Boston Dynamics is the nightmare pet you never asked for

It’s called SpotMini.

The SpotMini
The SpotMini
The SpotMini
Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics, the robotics company recently put up for sale by Google, specializes in making quadruped robots that make Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator seem more cuddly than Barney the dinosaur.

In tune with their previously released videos of such robots, Boston Dynamics today pulled the curtain back on its newest dystopian hellhound, SpotMini.

Technically, the robotics unit still belongs to Google. The search giant was unaware that Boston Dynamics planned to release its last robot video, which aired in February, before Bloomberg reported on the intended sale, according to sources.

We asked the company if they knew about this one. A source familiar with Google’s robotics team has said that the difficulty of managing a gaggle of roboticists was one reason Google chose to offload the company.

Suitors for Boston Dynamics likely include carmakers like Toyota or direct Alphabet rivals like Amazon. Or possibly an entertainment brand like Disney, given the cheeky after-credits scene in the new video.

Personally, I can’t wait to ask Alexa to get my robot dog-servant to fetch me the keys to my self-driving Prius. The future sounds great.

Additional reporting by Mark Bergen.


Elon Musk on AI integration in everyday life

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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