NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Robotic dog: your new best friend or worst enemy?

Washington Post
14 May, 2018 03:30 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Furry canine protectors face an uncertain future with the advent of robot dogs. Photo/Supplied.

Furry canine protectors face an uncertain future with the advent of robot dogs. Photo/Supplied.

They look like they've scampered out of a thriller - sleek, four-legged robots vaguely resembling dogs, flinging open doors and evading attacks from the humans controlling them.

And for the first time this week, videos posted to YouTube by the robotic dogs' creators, Boston Dynamics, show the not-so-cuddly canines prancing around autonomously.

The videos come just three months after a February 12 video of a robotic dog opening the door and escaping with its friend went viral, sparking headlines such as, "Boston Dynamics' dog robot can open up doors now and WTF we're all dead" and "Robot dogs opening doors is one of the scariest things you will see all day."

SpotMini robots, first unveiled by Boston Dynamics in June 2016, could become commonplace following CEO Marc Raibert's announcement last week at a conference that his company will begin selling the robots to businesses next year. They might appear outside construction zones - surveying the sites and collecting building data - or outside offices, where they could use their cameras to provide security. They could also be used to get into hard-to-reach spaces, such as the stairwells of skyscrapers, where they could check for explosives or "bad things" that shouldn't be there, Raibert said.

In fact, the dogs could take on almost any role thanks to a customising feature that allows third parties to run their own applications with SpotMini's computer programming. About 10 SpotMinis have already been built, and Raibert said he plans to manufacture about 100 more for testing this year before launching mass production by the middle of next year. While a price tag has yet to be determined for the robots, Raibert said the cost of building the latest prototype was about one-tenth the cost of previous versions.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Raibert revealed his plans at the TechCrunch conference, which took place at the University of California at Berkeley and focused on the expanding role of robots in everyday life.

The Washington Post's Alex Horton previously reported that the robotic dogs could prove less nightmarish during a natural or man-made disaster, as they could help navigate situations that would otherwise put people in danger, such as inspecting gas leaks or crawling through rubble after an explosion. According to Horton:

"The SpotMini's bulkier cousin, BigDog, was funded by the Pentagon's research arm as a potential battlefield ally to carry heavy ammunition and help evacuate wounded troops. But the Marine Corps decided in 2015 that BigDog was simply too loud and could give away the position to enemy troops."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A video posted to YouTube shows a SpotMini robotic dog running around an office, smoothly climbing up and down a staircase. An operator initially had to steer the robot through the course so that it could build its own map of the area. But once that's done - as shown in the video - the robot can navigate entirely on its own, using cameras to recognize obstacles.

In just over a day, the video of the robotic dog dashing up the stairs and bolting around the office on its own racked up more than 875,000 page views, a source of both wonderment and terror.

Pair that video with another one Boston Dynamics released in November of a boxy humanoid robot executing perfect backflips and you have a recipe for humanity's demise, some fear. Among them is Elon Musk, who has said that autonomous machines are more dangerous to the world than North Korea, and has compared the adoption of AI to "summoning the devil."

After watching the video of the bipedal robot achieving back flip after back flip, Musk tweeted, "This is nothing."

Discover more

World

How drones could soon join US military

06 May 08:14 PM
Business

Google's digital assistant passes for human - can you tell?

10 May 07:51 AM
Business

Watch: Jogging robot unleashes 'terror'

11 May 11:17 PM
KiwiSaver

Here come the robots: First digital financial advice gets green light

13 May 08:43 PM

"In a few years, that bot will move so fast you'll need a strobe light to see it," he wrote. "Sweet dreams ..."

Though Boston Dynamics, which is owned by Japan's SoftBank group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Post, the company's website says Atlas is the latest in a line of advanced humanoid robots it is developing.

"Atlas' control system coordinates motions of the arms, torso and legs to achieve whole-body mobile manipulation, greatly expanding its reach and workspace," the company says. "Atlas' ability to balance while performing tasks allows it to work in a large volume while occupying only a small footprint."

"Stereo vision, range sensing and other sensors give Atlas the ability to manipulate objects in its environment and to travel on rough terrain. Atlas keeps its balance when jostled or pushed and can get up if it tips over."

Raibert said people often send him ideas for everyday applications of his company's robots. One idea involves a legged device that could carry people in wheelchairs onto more difficult terrain.

"We get lots of requests for a wheelchair replacement because someone hasn't been able to go out on a hiking trail in their normal wheelchair," he said. "We're not actively working on that yet."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Banking and finance

'Misguided stunt': ANZ declines $300m legal settlement offer

Premium
AnalysisKate MacNamara

Reserve Bank's employee benefits: Gold standard or pretty standard?

New Zealand

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure


Sponsored

Tired of missing out on getting to global summits to help grow your business?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Premium
'Misguided stunt': ANZ declines $300m legal settlement offer
Banking and finance

'Misguided stunt': ANZ declines $300m legal settlement offer

ASB yet to respond to class action settlement offer.

16 Jul 04:41 AM
Premium
Premium
Reserve Bank's employee benefits: Gold standard or pretty standard?
Kate MacNamara
AnalysisKate MacNamara

Reserve Bank's employee benefits: Gold standard or pretty standard?

16 Jul 03:00 AM
Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure
New Zealand

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure

16 Jul 03:00 AM


Tired of missing out on getting to global summits to help grow your business?
Sponsored

Tired of missing out on getting to global summits to help grow your business?

14 Jul 04:48 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP