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We are well past the point at which videos of robotic animals are shocking. Unsettling, sure, but anyone who’s been even reasonably online for the past few years has had more than their physician-recommended share of Boston Dynamics propaganda.
There are no surprises anymore: robot tries to do a simple task, unassuming lab technician TURNS VILLAIN and hits it with a broom, totally unfazed robot adjusts and keeps doing its task. Then we all make jokes about the robot uprising beginning with that technician and pretend as though we’re not deeply creeped out by the whole affair. It’s a sort of ritual by which we celebrate the last days of the organics.
With that in mind, I bring you a better video, without villains and without autonomy:
Here's more footage of MIT's Mini Cheetahs cavorting, frolicking, back-flipping, playing soccer and generally acting fun and cute, courtesy of the Biomimetic Robotics Lab @MITMechE #robots #robotics pic.twitter.com/8ZQzDvCDVW
— Robot&AIWorld (@RobotAndAIWorld) November 7, 2019
These MIT engineering critters are far less terrifying than the Boston Dynamics specials for a couple of reasons. One, I don’t know that DARPA is funding them, and any ambiguity there is good for my mental well-being. Two, they’re all remote controlled, which basically makes this an RC car nerd-fest, except with legs rather than wheels. That’s not to say that they aren’t scary at all — it wouldn’t take much for one of them to make you have a very bad day, and it’s always someone else holding the remote control.
Anyway, are these extremely cute robotic mini-cheetahs sports? Let’s refer to our handy rubric.
Aesthetics: 8/10
Not as cuddly as a real animal but pretty cuddly nonetheless. Sleek, elegant, some cool backflips thrown in, and a bonus point for the hiding-in-a-pile-of-leaves bit. Very nice.
Difficulty: 7/10
They play some soccer, very badly. This is despite having four legs, which I can only assume would make soccer much easier. But they also do synchronized standing backflips from a quadrupedal position, which is so far beyond my capabilities that I think I pulled a muscle just watching.
Competitiveness: 4/10
There’s a nice clean tackle in here. Sure, why not.
Overall: 19/30
Probably sports. Robot fighting is definitely sports, but there’s not enough competition here to go quite that far.