13 ms·
Unitree’s Go1 Robot Dog Looks Pretty Great, Costs Just $2700
- ketamine__ 5y agoIt looks like it can carry water. But I need it to be able to jog for over an hour! Ah, another other model Aliengo up to 4.5 hours of battery life.
- eatbitseveryday 5y agoThese would be great in large quantities for search and rescue of large areas, perhaps.
- gamegoblin 5y agoEven in small numbers they would be great to patrol lesser used hiking trails once the battery is improved a bit. It’s not uncommon for a hiker, particularly an elderly one, to stumble and slide downhill off the trail and be unable to make it back up due to an injury. Just last Fall my wife and I came across a man whose horse had stumbled during a stream crossing and had fallen down a hill. The man had a torn ACL and couldn’t get out. Had we and some passing trail runners not found this man, he would have certainly died that night as he had no gear, was soaked wet, and it was going to be well below freezing. Imagine if the parks service just had a robot dog to do a final patrol of the trail at sundown, maybe with some thermal cameras or something.
- dagw 5y agoHow would these work better than drones with thermal cameras.
- gamegoblin 5y agoIf there are drones that have the battery life to fly ~15km under the tree canopy without hitting any trees or branches, etc, they would also be a great option. I think the high end consumer drones have range in this ballpark (eg DJI Mavic 2 Pro can go 18km with no wind). I’m not sure how much tree avoidance would be a problem, I’ve seen some pretty cool demos of autonomous forest drones. My intuition is that the robot dogs would be slightly more robust since they can self-right if they stumble, whereas if a drone hits a small obstacle it can pretty easily come tumbling out of the air and get stuck on the ground. I think the dogs could also be made more weatherproof than drones. I bet drones would be a much better option for lightly forested areas or desert areas, though, where they can generally fly above any obstacles.
- dagw 5y agoThere is actually a fair bit of research going on into using machine learning and image recognition to try detect bodies under tree canopies using thermal imaging
- tomp 5y agoDoing drones out of visual line of sight is quite dangerous. Worst thing if a robot dog “crashes” is, you pick it up next morning to recharge it.
- numpad0 5y agoThat’s 1/27th of Spot Mini. And probably only user programmable until manufacturer says but not you. My spine is frozen, don’t even feel the chill anymore.
- echelon 5y agoWhy does the Spot Mini cost so much and this so little? This isn't industrial espionage is it? Is Boston Robotics trying to recover R&D for everything else they do?
- f38zf5vdt 5y agoSpot mini was just the first. When 3D printers came out, their price for a decent one was high for both FDM and resin. Now most of them are sub-$1000.
- echelon 5y agoSo it takes a lot of R&D to find the general shape of a solution, but once that's been discovered, someone else can replicate similar results easily with cheaper components? Iterative improvement marches down the price...
- f38zf5vdt 5y agoYes! Certainly no shortage of cheap electric cars and scooters now in China.
- Cyph0n 5y agoThe Spot has an extremely impressive stabilization control system. If the Go1 had something close, they would have shown it in this ad. The other thing to keep in mind is that this ad might be showing the best-case operation. On the other hand, the Spot has been extensively used/tested by customers already.
- reportingsjr 5y agoNot industrial espionange. This robot is heavily based off of the MIT mini cheetah, which most of the design for is opensource (e.g. [0], [1]). Ben Katz has an amazing blog[2] which if you dig through you can read about a lot of the design decisions and testing for the mini cheetah. Funny enough, after designing the mini cheetah for his master's thesis Ben went to work for Boston Dynamics (I think he started there two or three years ago). 0: https://github.com/mit-biomimetics/Cheetah-Software https://github.com/mit-biomimetics/Cheetah-Software 1: https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/118671 https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/118671 2: https://build-its-inprogress.blogspot.com/ https://build-its-inprogress.blogspot.com/
- mysterydip 5y agoI wonder if someday when robot dogs are as affordable and intelligent as biological ones, will the market drop out for biologicals? All the selective breeding for hypoallergenic or good behavior is moot if it's programmable. Turn it to guard mode when you leave home, have a cuddle buddy when you're there.
- asah 5y agoAlso, no pooping or vet bills. But awesome security implications.
- juandazapata 5y agoJust the occasional mech bill after some parts replacement.
- f38zf5vdt 5y agoUnlikely. There might be a drop in demand for the breeds used for home defense or herding, but most breeds are recreational and people enjoy the company of other living, breathing things.
- sdesol 5y ago>people enjoy the company of other living, breathing things Can we say the same thing in the future? If a child is given a pet robot will they get bored of it like a toy or will they come to see it as a life long companion?
- f38zf5vdt 5y agoMost Tamagotchis and Furbys had a short lifespan. https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8axx/the-tamagotchi-cemetery https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8axx/the-tamagotchi-cemete... The likelihood is that industrialization will turn these toys into things that have short lifespans and are commonly replaced with new models, like phones. Children also have notoriously short attention spans. I think biological pets are more for the sanity of the parents than the children.
- aresant 5y agoVery slick production video but the grammar / spelling errors instantly tank credibility. Serious question - where is the disconnect with Chinese OEMs not being able to do basic spell / grammar checking?
- renewiltord 5y agoI suspect it is just local availability of English speakers. Western copy writers and copy editors are expensive by Chinese standards and access to them is hard for a Chinese firm.
- debrice 5y agoDefinitely an amazing tech given the tight budget but I struggle to see the appeal beyond pleasing my curious engineer mind. Any idea how such robot could be of any use for a “normal” private citizen (beyond carrying my water bottle while running)?
- f38zf5vdt 5y agoExcellent replacement for a security guard. If power consumption is low when not in motion, they can patrol, pause for a short time, watch their cameras, then move to a new position. Most aerial drones have to hover to patrol, which would make power consumption dramatically increase.
- neartheplain 5y agoKnightscope has tried to deliver this (security guard mobile robot) for years, with decidedly mixed results: >In December 2017, the San Francisco SPCA rented a Knightscope K5 robot to patrol the area next to their animal shelter, including the public sidewalk, to deter vandalism. The SPCA received complaints about using a robot on a public sidewalk where homeless people were encamped, and the robot was covered with a tarpaulin and smeared with barbecue sauce; the SPCA discontinued the contract. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightscope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightscope
- lostlogin 5y ago> the robot was covered with a tarpaulin and smeared with barbecue sauce A seasoned veteran. This is going to be a problem everywhere as robots are rolled out - people don’t like them.
- tailspin2019 5y ago> This is going to be a problem everywhere as robots are rolled out - people don’t like them. Yeah this is a big problem, especially for unaccompanied autonomous robots. I’m very bullish on this stuff in technological progress terms, but I’d still dislike seeing these things on the street unaccompanied. At best you’re being remotely recorded/streamed/observed/stalked by some anonymous remote operator (and the internet has taught us a lot about what human behaviour is like when there is total anonymity). At worst it’s packed with explosives. I’m not sure how we deal with this issue. I guess there will be a big difference between how accompanied vs unaccompanied robots will be viewed. A bit like a large dog wondering about on its own would be treated with a lot more caution than one accompanied by its owner!
- mooneater 5y ago> Our company actually spent more manpower and money than software on the hardware level such as machinery. I would like to know what was meant here -- software was the biggest cost?
- KMnO4 5y agoI imagine the project would be broken into hardware challenges (mechatronics, electronics, and manufacturing) and software (AI, programmability). Most likely because everything you could need in the software world is free (eg Tensorflow, CUDA, etc). Everything to do with hardware is very expensive (Altium, Proteus, Simulink, any sort of CNC control).
- croes 5y agoThey background music makes it hard to know the noise it really makes.
- Cub3 5y agoThis is a really good point, my first thought was "I bet you it's super loud annoying"
- ape4 5y agoThe owner looked so lonely while walking in the park with the robot dog. Isn't companionship a big reason to have a (bio) dog.
- pryelluw 5y agoMy washing machine is a great companion. Barely needs play and just obeys my commands. Plus keeps my clothes smelling fresh.
- awillen 5y agoI don't think the intended use case is dog replacement. Human beings just can't help but anthropomorphize, thus it's a robot dog instead of a quadrupedal load-carrying robot.
- hobofan 5y ago> I don't think the intended use case is dog replacement. Maybe not in this iteration, but why not? There are already robotic seals[0] for companionship, so a robotic dog doesn't seem too far off. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paro_(robot) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paro_(robot)
- awillen 5y agoThat just seems strange to me, but hey, I wouldn't begrudge a pet robot if it makes anyone happy. Maybe I'll look back at this post in 30 years and chuckle at how little foresight I had when they're incredibly popular.
- kristopolous 5y agoThink cameras, gps and microphones instead.
- jacobkg 5y agoThere is a Black Mirror about this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror)
- Tenoke 5y agoI dont know why everyone brings it up as if it preceded the tech. The episode was purely based on the designs coming out of Boston dynamics and co and while popular the episode is purely centered around hunting suspense and nothing more relevant.
- emerged 5y agoMaybe you could use one of these to carry your purse dog around for you.
- pjc50 5y agoWondering if this will fill the market segment that bought the Sony Aibo.
- verall 5y agoThe clearest specifications I could find on their site is here: https://www.unitree.com/uploads/%E5%A4%A9%E7%8C%AB-%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87-19_d843080f56.jpeg https://www.unitree.com/uploads/%E5%A4%A9%E7%8C%AB-%E8%8B%B1... In the marketing material they say that the processing power compares favorably to a TX2, but it looks like their $8.5k model is using Nano and/or NX.
- causality0 5y agoPut a four foot mast camera on it and I can see influencers eating it up.
- ic4l 5y agoWhy are these not being marketed to do something useful. I mean a $3,000 water bottle holder...
- kristopolous 5y agoThey are. That video shows reconnaissance applications. Who do you think is in the market for 10,000 of these?
- xaduha 5y agoIts job is to be a lobster on a leash. To bring attention to itself and its owner.
- mortenjorck 5y agoThey don't specify the actual load-carrying capacity, but I would consider that the critical detail determining the practical utility of this product. Relieving you of the weight of a water bottle is a fun tech demo, but if it could carry a modest backpack's worth of stuff you'd otherwise be lugging yourself, that would have some real benefits in certain contexts.
- sacred_numbers 5y agoThe article says that the Edu version has a capacity of 5kg which is an upgrade of 2kg. This would imply a load-carrying capacity of 3kg for the base model. Not a lot, but not totally insignificant.
- mrfusion 5y agoThis could be really cool to protect a garden or bird feeder.
- drdaeman 5y agoCould work with simpler vermin, but smarter animals would surely learn that robot has no effective means of harming them (no way to bite or scratch, unlike a real dog; maybe punching, like a horse?), and reclassify it from a threat to a nuisance.
- helsinkiandrew 5y agoInteresting. If there is a market for these (over wheeled robots) then if the Unitree robot is in anyway capable compared with Boston dynamics there’s a good chance they will become the market leader in the same way that DJI ‘owns’ the drone market. $2.7K is cheap enough for enough consumers to purchase to give them the economies of scale, profit and R&D capital, that you can’t get with selling $70K industrial units.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- AndrewKemendo 5y agoHas anyone been able to actually order one of these? The Captcha on the company's order form appears to be broken.
- ketamine__ 5y agoI got it to work
- xyst 5y agoHow will this perform in rain and snow? What about operating temperatures? No mention of carrying capacity limits on this article or Unitree's website. How well does it handle variable terrain (ie, hiking)? I can't see myself buying a $2700 piece of tech that can only be used in ideal conditions. Seems like a novelty item at this point.
- luke2m 5y agoReal Dog from your local shelter Looks Pretty Great, Costs Just $50
- BugsJustFindMe 5y agoA real dog costs much more than $50 after recurring long term food and medical expenses like annual vet visits.
- reedjosh 5y agoBut it's not like this tech device will have a lesser maintenance cost. You have to replace your phone every few years, imaging that with a dog. Then think about the dollar and environmental cost of throw away tech devices.
- BugsJustFindMe 5y agoMy honest uninformed sentiment: The device has very little utility so it will have no maintenance cost. ;)
- neitherboosh 5y agoMy feeling is that there is no overlap whatsoever between use cases for a real dog vs. a robot dog…
- sheepdog 5y agoI'm super interested in using this for my masters thesis. But their github docs are terse at best. I have no confidence that I'd be talented enough to figure out their api, and the mention of the broken website form further deters me. Too bad; I love the concept of quadrupeds for navigating stairs and other urban obstacles.
- jjcc 5y agoThen it's an attractive point for hacking: Use an existing system and repurpose it to serve your own goal.
- nmstoker 5y agoYou may already be aware of it, but the Bittle from Petoi may be of interest: https://www.petoi.com/ https://www.petoi.com/ Bittle is obviously not of the same size as the Go1 so won't be suited to the same practical tasks but if you're looking at exploring the control aspects it would serve as a good platform to learn on (for a substantially lower initial outlay). Petoi has the OpenCat repo and there are plenty of ways to hook it up to additional sensors or a remote system for more advanced guidance etc. Edit: Mine arrived on Friday. It's great, although putting it together had a few challenges (the springs are a tough fit, but people figured workarounds on the forum)
- sheepdog 5y agoInteresting. I didn't realize these were shipping yet. Seems like a good option for exploration!
- Animats 5y agoNice. That's a reasonable price point for what's inside, and could get much cheaper with volume. Good robots have always suffered from a low-volume, high cost problem.
- neitherboosh 5y agoThis looks really cool and I’m sure the tech can be used to do all kinds of interesting things, but I’m struggling to think of an actual use case for the product. From the marketing and price it seems to be directed towards consumers—is there anything this can do for me that a backpack can’t do? Still want one, anyway.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y agoI thought a dead simple military application would be sentries. Have them patrolling around FOBs, return and charge when they need to, fresh ones go out. Unarmed of course.
- lostlogin 5y agoThis is done in Black Mirror, Season 4 episode 5 Metalhead. It’s terrifying. The dogs were armed.
- _carbyau_ 5y agoI like Black Mirror. Like an extension of the argument that "guns don't shoot people, people shoot people", Black Mirror displays the equation, XYZcoolTech+people = horrifying. Apply that here and you can bet that "florida robot dog does stupid thing" will be a headline in the future.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago"The street finds its own uses for things." - William Gibson
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y agohttps://williamgibson.fandom.com/wiki/Slamhound https://williamgibson.fandom.com/wiki/Slamhound
- tailspin2019 5y ago> Unarmed of course. I admire your optimism!
- JulianMorrison 5y agoThat's an expensive way to carry your one bottle of shopping.
- runawaybottle 5y agoThese things will be used by law enforcement. Deploying these and having remote cops surveil is cheaper than putting a cop on every corner. The implications for a surveillance society are pretty intense though, but it can easily clean up tough neighborhoods where deterrents are necessary sadly. I can also imagine pull over stops where the robot engages the passenger first, and is only equipped with a taser. You basically take the human out of the equation so there is no fear of getting shot by the officer or the passenger.
- DoktorDelta 5y agoThe robot dog tases you and the responding officer calmly kneels on your neck until you die of "natural causes".
- eucryphia 5y agoLooks like one of the alien robot assassin dogs on BBC TV series War of the Worlds?
- redis_mlc 5y agoAlthough this is 1/200 the cost of the Willow Garage robot (RIP), you can look at the use cases and usefulness of the latter to understand the need more: - the WG robot could fold laundry (after some programming), but it wasn't that useful - the WG robot could fetch a beer from the fridge, more useful - the WG robot could roll down the street and pick up a pizza, but it was a theft target (even an attractive nuisance) I think Real Dolls have a much bigger market and utility than any robot, short of CP-30. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Garage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Garage