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Two things: 1) of all the animals that move around freely on this planet, i think bipedal walking is amongst the rarest mode of transportation, i mean you got

by apalmer 11y ago

Two things: 1) of all the animals that move around freely on this planet, i think bipedal walking is amongst the rarest mode of transportation, i mean you got many animals that can go bipedal for short bursts but outside of that you got basically humans and birds... and for birds in general bipedalism is the secondary mode of locamotion... just seems illogical to spend so much effort to develop what is clearly a very limited and complex mode of operation. also if as the article surmises google had any expectation that they were going to invest in robotics R&D and get some significant new product out of it in 5 years time... well then they deserved to get burned... some problems just always fall on the government and military in particular because of the timespans involved before something meaningful can sprout from the R&D efforts.

x1798DE 11y ago
I agree that there are easier modes of movement than bipedal motion, but to some extent bipedal motion is useful because human environments are designed for human-like motion. That said, cats and dogs seem to do just fine.
- marcosdumay 11y ago
  Human environments are mostly designed for wheels.
mrfusion 11y ago
Don't forget ostriches who use walking as their only means of transportation. Also remember our friend the kangaroo. Oh and the T. rex.
takatin 11y ago
> ....just seems illogical to spend so much effort to develop what is clearly a very limited and complex mode of operation Quadrupedal motion is for locomotion. Bipedal motion is for transportation. Bipedal motion frees up two limbs to carry stuff around, open locks, get into cars and drive, move into and out of crowded, people-packed spaces (elevators) where horizontal space is limited but vertical space is plenty and so on. And since we’re taking about robots, the two freed up limbs need not be “normal” limbs but tools specialised for the job at hand that cannot be used for locomotion purposes (the "arms" can be guns, welding machines or forks for carrying weights) Also, robots that look and act like humans are an easier sell and selling them is the hardest part about getting these robots mainstream. Have no doubt, perfecting bipedal motion is a worthwhile endeavor.
- mchahn 11y ago
  > perfecting bipedal motion is a worthwhile endeavor. Especially since it is extremely efficient. The human legs act like pendulums and need only a small push every step to continue.

by apalmer 11y ago

x1798DE 11y ago

I agree that there are easier modes of movement than bipedal motion, but to some extent bipedal motion is useful because human environments are designed for human-like motion. That said, cats and dogs seem to do just fine.

marcosdumay 11y ago
Human environments are mostly designed for wheels.

mrfusion 11y ago

Don't forget ostriches who use walking as their only means of transportation. Also remember our friend the kangaroo. Oh and the T. rex.

takatin 11y ago

> ....just seems illogical to spend so much effort to develop what is clearly a very limited and complex mode of operation Quadrupedal motion is for locomotion. Bipedal motion is for transportation. Bipedal motion frees up two limbs to carry stuff around, open locks, get into cars and drive, move into and out of crowded, people-packed spaces (elevators) where horizontal space is limited but vertical space is plenty and so on. And since we’re taking about robots, the two freed up limbs need not be “normal” limbs but tools specialised for the job at hand that cannot be used for locomotion purposes (the "arms" can be guns, welding machines or forks for carrying weights) Also, robots that look and act like humans are an easier sell and selling them is the hardest part about getting these robots mainstream. Have no doubt, perfecting bipedal motion is a worthwhile endeavor.

mchahn 11y ago
> perfecting bipedal motion is a worthwhile endeavor. Especially since it is extremely efficient. The human legs act like pendulums and need only a small push every step to continue.