VIDEO: Google's Robotic Dog 'Spot' Plays With Actual Dog

Google's robotic domestic dog Spot has a new playmate—an actual dog.

The squad behind Spot recently introduced the robot to Alex, an ambrosial existent-life terrier reportedly owned past Android co-founder Andy Rubin, who previously managed Google'southward robotics division for about a year. Equally you can run into from the YouTube video, posted Sunday past Steve Jurvetson, a partner at venture capitalist firm DFJ, the two canines didn't exactly go along.

Alex basically runs circles effectually the robot, barking incessantly. After witnessing the spectacle in person, Jurvetson told IEEE Spectrum he was impressed past Spot's "lifelike motion."

"The tradition of the uncanny valley continues...to the un-canine valley!" he quipped.

A second new video of Spot posted by Jurvetson shows the robot wake upwardly from a reclined position, stand upwardly, and accept a little romp around a parking lot. Spot is capable of standing up tall on its legs, crouching down, sitting, moving its metal torso side to side, and climbing upward and down curbs. It likewise has a few different gaits, ranging from a slow walk to a faster trot.

First unveiled in February 2022, Spot was developed by Boston Dynamics, the now Google-owned company behind an army of super-strong, animal- and human-like robots with names like BigDog, Cheetah, Wildcat, and Atlas. Though Spot is the smallest of the posse, it still weighs in at a hefty 160 pounds.

Unlike Boston Dymanics's other robots, Spot was designed to work indoors likewise as outside, the visitor has said. It'south electrically powered and hydraulically actuated, and has a so-chosen "sensor head" that helps it navigate through rough terrain.

This commodity originally appeared on PCMag.com.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag'southward expert on fitness and smart dwelling house products. Teaching yoga for nearly x years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fettle trackers, heart rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, force preparation machines, treadmills, and more. Angela too tests smart abode devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, but to name a few.