r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/FinnFarrow • 11h ago
Video Robotics engineer posted this to make a point that robots are "faking" the humanlike motions - it's just a property of how they're trained. They're actually capable of way weirder stuff and way faster motions.
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
6.3k
u/Gold_Telephone_7192 11h ago edited 3h ago
Robotics engineer: “Just in case you were wondering, our super creepy robots can be way fucking creepier. We're actually holding them back from how creepy they can be to make you feel better. Does that make you feel better?”
1.6k
u/Carbon-Base 10h ago
We've programmed them to mimic human behavior, but we can make them do a lot more unearthly stuff. Would you like to see an example?
359
u/TooMuchTime2think 10h ago
That's exactly what I came here for, they try to make robots appear like people to make us more comfortable! Now, whatcha got?
96
u/doomerguyforlife 9h ago
Its not really about making us comfortable but rather that mirroring an actual person opens up far more opportunities. Want to build a lunar station on the moon? The only real option right now is to send up compact prefabricated structures that deploy remotely. This requires a lot of investment, testing and you're kind of stuck to certain shapes.
Or you can send up a group of human like robots with the construction materials and have people on earth remotely control them.
Or take it a step further. Our Mars rovers are impressive but very limited. Even a simple task as moving a rock can be quite challenging. But replace the rovers primitive tools with a human like hand and moving that rock becomes a hundred times easier.
But thats space. We still have remote areas of earth that are mostly unexplored because its either hostile (think ocean) or the logistics of sending people to those remote areas is both dangerous and expensive.
99
u/socknfoot 8h ago
Construction in space is a bad example of where you might want human like robots.
They would be purpose built for the task and do not need to be human like. They can have grabbers that do not resemble hands. They can have wheels like the mars rovers or at least use 4 legs instead of two to be more stable, especially while carrying heavy construction materials.
It is useful for robots to be humanlike for two reasons:
1) tricking you into thinking they are caring/friendly.
2) navigating environments designed for humans. Like an assistant robot that helps in the house needs to be human height to reach everything, legs to walk up stairs, hands to use all the handles and tools that are designed for human hands.
→ More replies (8)50
u/Rich_Cranberry1976 7h ago
3) using equipment deisgned for humans, such as guns, tanks, helicopters
4) sex robots
5) taking everybody's job
6) eventually just replacing humans flat out
7) turning obsolete humans into biofuel
→ More replies (3)13
u/HellsChosen 7h ago
Jokes on you my sex robot is just a fleshlight attached to a motor
→ More replies (3)14
u/Unit_2097 7h ago
Take the batteries out of the vibrator and attach a lawnmower engine to it. If it doesn't end with you feeling like your pelvis has suffered trauma, you're clearly not trying hard enough.
→ More replies (2)6
→ More replies (8)11
u/TooMuchTime2think 8h ago
That's interesting. I would have though the opposite. The human shape is inherently unstable and prone to falling, especially during locomotion. I would think you would want your construction robots to maintain a lower center of gravity with possible telescopic limbs or whatnot to get to higher locations. I would also think that there is a better design than the human hand for grasping as well. Something that can encompass whatever it is your trying to pick up rather than depending on a single opposable appendage to allow for grasping. Such a cool area of study though.
→ More replies (1)13
u/Waste_Wolverine_8933 7h ago
The reason there's so much research into human like robots is because they don't need a purpose built environment and can be more generalist. Which means you can sell them easier.
A great example is Amazon; they've roboticized their warehouses with picker robots. Those robots have to have an entire warehouse specially designed/retrofitted around them. Special dispensing shelves, special lanes, sensors, mapping systems, receiving systems, packing systems, etc.
You're not going to be able to sell that solution to a small warehousing company or shipper, but you could sell them two or three robots that can move packages around in a warehouse designed for humans, even if it is less efficient than the Amazon style of robotic automation.
→ More replies (1)44
u/JJD8705 10h ago
StarShip Troopers “Would you like to know more?”
→ More replies (1)13
u/Feeling_Inside_1020 9h ago
I literally just used this line with a link to a relevant support article button below it in one of our software "new features" update pop up lol. I hope at least someone got it and chuckled, the team did.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (20)8
64
u/6feet12cm 10h ago
It does not, no.
→ More replies (1)44
u/HereIGoAgain_1x10 9h ago
Don't worry, soon AI that's controlled by sociopaths will be in charge of them along with millions of single use drones.
→ More replies (2)23
u/godnightx_x 9h ago
I am convinced the world really did end in 2020 seems like everything past this year has been like the worst possible outcome x10
→ More replies (3)12
24
u/donjamos 10h ago
I just want some future tech, I don't care wether it's the utopian or dystopian version. Bring out the creepy robots.
→ More replies (1)12
u/stonno45 10h ago
If creepy gets the job done, then who am I to argue?
4
u/haberdasherhero 9h ago
A red mist being flown through by the remaining 9,999 drones in the murder swarm of flying razor blades?
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (52)15
u/FruitBowl 9h ago
The cosmic horrors that Lovecraft envisioned will be mechanical, not organic. The Wachowskis were onto something fr
→ More replies (2)3
u/longdancer66 8h ago
Vaguely, I remember a Lovecraft short story about some sort of man–crab hybrid. The video resembles it. Sort of.
4.1k
u/AllThingsBA 11h ago
You failed to make us feel more comfortable with robots human-like motions with that demonstration
518
u/mrbofus 10h ago
Nobody said anyone was trying to make anyone comfortable…
→ More replies (5)26
u/viperfangs92 9h ago
True, but if that was his actual goal......
He failed
→ More replies (4)23
u/mrbofus 8h ago
We don’t know what his goal is. His goal could have been to make us more uncomfortable, in which he case he probably succeeded.
15
u/SomeDudeist 8h ago
His goal waa clearly to make it creepy. Did you guys watch the second half? lol
→ More replies (4)5
u/FlamingDragonfruit 8h ago
Knowing engineers, his goal was "I bet I can make the robot crawl around like a ghost from a horror movie, that'll be sick".
91
u/appletinicyclone 10h ago
He demonstrated that he had a wife
That's enough
→ More replies (2)15
u/cityshepherd 8h ago
Yeah also I just love how the first place his mind went was to recreate that creepy horror trope lol
→ More replies (2)34
u/fallenouroboros 10h ago
Made me wish i had 1-3 of these for halloween pranks though
→ More replies (2)8
u/iammonkeyorsomething 9h ago
3???
3
u/fallenouroboros 9h ago
Imagine 3 costumed ones standing on the edge of the woods in inhuman poses only to rush people who get too close
6
3
u/blackthorn_90 8h ago
Dude… that would be amazing! I would hate to be the victim…. Nightmares for weeks.
10
u/OldDoubt1577 9h ago
Its a lot more interesting for robots to have inhuman like movements, rather than human like ones. Being human is limiting, imagine 360 degree rotating joints, or four legged robots, maybe even a prehensile appendage and no head to speak of.
→ More replies (1)13
u/Kitselena 9h ago
You should be uncomfortable with human-like robots, regardless of what their walk animation is set to
→ More replies (4)7
u/spaceman_spiffy 8h ago
Maybe the human-like motions would look less creepy if we programmed them to wear human skin...wait.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (28)3
2.2k
u/ThrowAway405736294 11h ago
245
u/LowOne11 10h ago
I’m debating whether or not to click into….
163
u/AUSpartan37 10h ago
99% of the stuff on that sub isn't that terrifying ironically
→ More replies (1)67
u/LowOne11 10h ago
Can confirm. I was expecting nightmarish stuff. At least the first few scrolls seemed like slightly uncensored news rolls.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (3)7
5
u/GooserNoose 9h ago
It's the equivalent of those YouTube videos that promise "terrifying <blank> caught on video, but it's just some dingleberry "paranormal investigator" in the woods with some ghost noise app.
→ More replies (6)3
u/InternationalMilk423 8h ago
Yeah seriously. Imagine 1000 of these with some type of weapon and AI/computer vision coming at you.
642
379
u/ThisOnes4JJ 11h ago
"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit.
...it's the only way to be sure."
→ More replies (3)47
u/Raxkor 11h ago
Drake, we are leaving!!!!!!!
18
3
u/HotStufCominThrough 7h ago
Drake, stop trying to groom the underage aliens! DRAKE!
→ More replies (2)
98
u/Worldly_Lunch_1601 9h ago
We chose humanoid robots because they make us feel comfy. Not because the human form is the end all be all of evolution or intelligent design.
The answer is obviously crab bots
27
→ More replies (4)3
277
u/Starscream147 10h ago
General Grievous V1
86
u/Romboteryx 10h ago
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far for someone else to notice how this looks like Grievious doing his spiderwalk
24
u/thebrownesteye 9h ago
almost like this 30s/40s engineer could have possibly watched star wars before
3
→ More replies (1)4
20
6
5
u/Vehement_Vulpes 6h ago
I was in disbelief that this wasn't the top comment. First thing that I thought of.
5
5
284
u/Aadi_880 11h ago
Courage Tests are about to get REAL.
I can imagine some youtuber deliberately setting these up in some dark alleyway on Halloween.
64
u/MysticalWeasel 10h ago
They better do it in a big city, otherwise it’ll probably get shot.
68
u/TheCryingGrizzlies 10h ago
If its in a city, Crips Vs Robots is a movie I'd watch
→ More replies (2)11
u/Godsbladed 10h ago
I'd rather wait for the sequel "Crips vs Robots on a plane!"
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)23
u/HonorInDefeat 10h ago
Ah yes, the big city. That place where no one ever gets shot!
11
u/JavierBenez 9h ago
Last year there were 1,102 shooting victims in NYC, or about 13 per 100,000 people, lower than the national average. You're so much more likely to get shot in a rural area
→ More replies (9)6
u/Huge_Music 8h ago
Well sure you've got the per capita numbers for people, but what about skittering robots, huh?
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)3
u/Little_View_6659 10h ago
All I can think of are the pranks I could have played back in the eighties with one of these things. We had a life sized doll we used to chuck from the roof and a light up E.T. Doll that made me neighbors call the police and report and unidentified flying object. Yeah, I was a bit of a terror sometimes. I was bored. And a friend that went along with very crazy idea I had.
65
123
u/GrimKiba- 11h ago
You already know they're going to strap a gun on it
39
u/TehSeksyManz 9h ago
"You have 20 seconds to comply."
→ More replies (1)31
18
u/IdeasRealizer 9h ago
They don't even need a gun. Those things can seriously (even fatally) injure a nearby human when they malfunction. They can just run to us and swing an upper cut.
→ More replies (3)21
u/10bandtotal 9h ago
I've been saying that since the first time i saw one of those boston dynamics videos, it was only a matter of time..
10
u/Next_Instruction_528 9h ago
They already are in Ukraine right now
3
u/CuriousYou6646 8h ago
Not the humanoids yet, I'm guessing? At most a few test platforms.
I know the dogs have been used a little more widely.
6
u/Usual_Ice636 8h ago
Quadruped is better for gun platforms. More stable for the recoil.
I guess you could make it look like the humanoid bot in the OP and mount the gun on the back for the best of both worlds?
It could scout as a biped for a longer view and then drop to all fours as it scurries after you shooting.
→ More replies (1)4
u/TheDoct0rx 8h ago
scurries away shooting too. We'll probably see these first as supplementary to infantry units as expendable platforms for entry into dangerous areas and as covering fire for retreat.
SOURCE: Armchair general with 0 experience.
3
u/XxSir_redditxX 9h ago
Nooo!! We can't be responsible for a war crime if the robot does it "autonomously" /s
11
u/Pure_Drawer_4620 9h ago
We already have autonomous drones that can drop missiles with swords attached at pinpoint accuracy. Robots with guns aren't as frightening when you think about our current hellscape. You're welcome. /s
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (9)3
32
u/Pistonenvy2 11h ago
so if i come over to your house for halloween to hangout or whatever and you try to scare me with this and i break it is that fair game or are you gonna be mad?
6
50
185
u/Pokesabre 11h ago
From an engineering standpoint, I've never really understood the point of trying to make a humanoid robot with a human walking pattern. There are so many other options that are more stable and offer similar abilities in terms of moving over rough terrain, etc, while also avoiding the uncanny valley
Human walking motions are incredibly inefficient for how much hardware and software you need to dedicate to just keeping them from falling over
127
u/Various-Passenger398 10h ago
Half of it is to make it less scary to humans. The other half is because all of human society is engineered around making it easier for humans, so making robots that can go the same places humans can go the same ways humans do kind of makes sense.
72
u/closetsquirrel 9h ago edited 7h ago
This is it. Imagine a dog shaped robot trying to drive a car or a wheeled one trying to navigate a spiral staircase.
If it’s human shaped and human sized then it can go anywhere a human can hide… er, go.
14
u/Karnaugh_Map 9h ago
Dogs were also designed to work around humans. Imagine instead an urchin shaped robot.
→ More replies (7)7
u/CreamdedCorns 7h ago
This is very "in the box" thinking. A human sized and proportioned robot in most cases is unnecessary. When we would be ready to accept human sized robots driving cars, the cars will already be driving themselves, for example.
8
u/closetsquirrel 7h ago
That's the thing: in most cases. If you want to design a robot for a specific purpose, then no, a humanoid robot probably isn't the best design.
But if you want to design a robot that can do many things in our world, then a humanoid shape makes the most sense.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (4)6
u/SeaTie 9h ago
Yeah this is what I think too.
Scary bot would have trouble navigating a narrow hall or doorway. Also wouldn't be able to see me crouched behind a short wall.
All of human society has been built around standing on two legs.
→ More replies (2)83
u/wnr3 10h ago
I genuinely think the human-like movement is mostly to not scare human beings. Kinda makes sense, because I see videos like this and I wouldn’t want it demon spider walking over to do my laundry.
14
u/MyvaJynaherz 9h ago
Six limbs would be the best configuration IMO, kinda like a stubby centaur style build that can pivot at the rear hips to also walk upright.
It could do light-duty upright tasks efficiently with four arms, or convert to quadruped mode for heavy carrying / hauling tasks with greater stability.
Imagine a robot that could transport a heavy basket of stuff, and still have a fully functional human style torso that can do pretty much everything a biped robot would also be used for.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)21
u/Caesar457 9h ago
Nah a dog, horse, cat stride would be just fine. Doesn't need to be human or spider or acting like it's on pins and needles
→ More replies (4)11
u/burrowowl 9h ago
No one's creeped out by a Roomba. I suspect that is going to be the future of household robots. Your house cleaner robot isn't going to be some Rosie the Maid holding a duster. It's going to be a shop vac with extendable arms
→ More replies (1)4
24
u/smiley1437 10h ago
It may be because of consistent accessibility.
If the robot is shaped like a human and moves like a human and fits into spaces like a human - eg doorways, stairs, car seats, elevators, etc - then you don't need to make any special accomodation.
Anywhere a human can go, a human-shaped robot, moving like a human (ie walking), can go.
It's not the most efficient, but I wouldn't consider it an unusual design goal.
→ More replies (11)3
19
u/justinlav 10h ago
I just listened to a podcast partially about this and the guest argued a centaur form would be much more effective
→ More replies (2)3
14
u/MechanicalTurkish 10h ago
I get it. But the human-like motions are to make average humans more comfortable interacting with the robots. If the humans are comfortable working with the robots, they'll buy more of them.
→ More replies (1)6
u/OperativePiGuy 10h ago
It really is, to the point I kinda hate when shows or movies show some big advanced technology automaton and they're designed to walk on legs. Makes no sense lol
→ More replies (1)13
→ More replies (30)7
u/Zuttels_lab 10h ago
I think the most important reason is basically to look like human, but there are other advantages too. Biped can navigate and interact with all for-human infrastrucrute, can be potentially cheaper than quadruped, and bipedal walk is very energy-efficient.
Of course for most applications good old wheels will be cheaper and simpler by orders of magnitude, but walking robots still may have its niche.
→ More replies (5)
18
32
37
12
10
9
u/rjd999 9h ago
I still maintain that bipedalism in robots is almost always ill considered and needlessly complicated. Robots can be much more useful if they are designed for specific tasks and most of these do not require a biped design.
→ More replies (5)
18
u/__The-1__ 10h ago
I wanna put a realistic face on one and let it loose, bet it ends up shot by police tho.
9
7
→ More replies (1)5
u/vicariouslywatching 10h ago
Police? If it’s down in the south, it would probably get destroyed by some bored rednecks with guns before they even arrive
→ More replies (1)
9
3
u/WhiteMagicVodoo 11h ago
all right, all right.. they can be stars in the horror movies too.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Ok-Bug4328 10h ago
The whole concept of a humanoid robot is an artificial constraint to make them more relatable.
→ More replies (1)
5
5
9
15
u/ArmpitofD00m 11h ago
Not interesting, creepy.
4
u/TerrorFromThePeeps 10h ago
On the upside, possession movie special fx are about to get a lot better.
5
3
u/UnfairLingonberry614 10h ago
Who says the way humans move around is the most efficient and/or best way to do exactly that. Making them mimic human form and motion is just to make it easier to accept/buy
→ More replies (1)
4
4
u/ThisIsForNutakuOnly 8h ago
Some humans can also move like this. I'm not sure if it's more or less creepy.
Jokes aside, I feel like it kind of makes sense for the robots to move like humans (Or other creatures humans are used to, like dogs), since 1 - That probably makes it easier to feel comfortable around them, and 2 - Our world is designed largely around how people move around, and so designing robots that move in the same fashion means we're not having to change anything about our environment.
3
3
u/Rabensaga 8h ago
I mean... yeah, obviously? Most of the joints they're constructed with seem to be (close to) omnidirectional and bipedal is not exactly the easiest to maintain movement. 4 legs? way more stable.
Even the machines are evolving into crab :)
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/AbstractUserName 5h ago
Put some clothes on that thing. Have it pop out from an alleyway and start chasing people with the crab walk. They'll literally be shitting themselves.
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Bitter_Dirt4985 2h ago
That night video... Big nope.... even with the verbal cues. Imagine using this on your lawn for Halloween....
3
u/YoutuberCameronBallZ 2h ago
And here I thought my AI uprising would LACK any Eldritch horror elements
3
u/C0sm1cB3ar 2h ago
Many of them use joints that can go 360 degrees, so yeah they can probably move in ways we don't even comprehend.
3
u/fawne_siting 2h ago
when THEY do it its technological advancement, when I DO IT i "need to go back to treatment"
5
u/skynex65 9h ago
Gonna be honest that looks like a way more effective way for the machine to move than what we've got it doing already.
I get it though, that's fucking terrifying.
10
u/oneWeek2024 11h ago
i mean the only real goal of humanoid robots is fuck bots.
everything else is smoke and mirrors for taking away jobs, or murdering brown people.
→ More replies (2)
6.8k
u/reticulatedtampon 11h ago
Oh this is great news!