US - Better than human? 4 robots dance to songs

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

Boston Dynamic robots (Source:CNN)

人間より上手？　ロボット４体が曲に合わせダンス　米

2021.01.01 Fri posted at 13:47 JST

 ニューヨーク（ＣＮＮ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ） 米ボストン・ダイナミクスはこのほど、同社のロボット４体がヒット曲に合わせて緻密（ちみつ）な振り付けのダンスを踊る映像を公開した。

ボストン・ダイナミクスは米マサチューセッツ工科大学（ＭＩＴ）から独立したスピンオフ企業。倉庫業や警察、公益企業、工場に、人間以上に巧みかつ安全にタスクをこなすロボットを販売している。

同社は１２月２９日、自社ロボットのスキルの向上ぶりを示す目的で映像を公開した。映像にはロボットたちが１９６０年代のコントゥアーズのヒット曲「ドゥ・ユー・ラヴ・ミー」に合わせてツイストやマッシュポテトなどのダンスを踊る様子が映っており、印象的な一方でどこか不気味でもある。

米電気自動車（ＥＶ）大手テスラの最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）で、人工知能に関して懐疑的な意見を持つことで知られるイーロン・マスク氏はツイッターでこの動画に触れ、「コンピューターで生成された映像ではない」と指摘した。

ボストン・ダイナミクスはこれまでのところ、ロボット工学の推進者が想定や期待をしていたほどの成功を収めていない。獲得した顧客はごくわずかで、過去３年間のうちに親会社が３回変わった。米グーグルによって２０１３年に買収されたものの１７年にソフトバンクに売却され、昨年前半には韓国の現代自動車の傘下に入っている。

同社は昨年６月、犬型ロボットの「スポット」を１体７万４５００ドルで米企業に販売し始めた。

だが、今回の動画で主役の座を奪ったのは人型ロボットの「アトラス」２体だ。ボストン・ダイナミクスは１９年、アトラスが３６０度回転ジャンプなどを披露する様子を公開していたが、今回の動画からはアトラスの能力がこの１年で大きく進化したことがうかがえる。

動画には他にも車輪付きのロボット「ハンドル」も登場している。

Translation

New York (CNN Business) -- Boston Dynamics had recently released a video of its four robots dancing in a precise composition to a hit song.

Boston Dynamics was an independent spin-off company from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It sold robots that performed tasks more skillfully and safely than humans in warehousing, policing, public works, and factories.

On December 29, the company released a video to show how the skills of its robots had improved. The footage showed the robots were dancing Twists, Mashed Potatoes, and other dances to the 1960s Contours hit song "Do You Love Me", the dancing was impressive but somewhat weird.

Elon Musk, CEO of electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla, who was known for his skepticism about artificial intelligence, pointed out on Twitter that the video "this is not computer-generated footage. "

So far, Boston Dynamics was not as successful as robotics proponents had imagined or expected. Only a few customers were acquired, and the parent company had changed three times in the last three years. Although it was acquired by Google in 2013, it was sold to Softbank in 2017 and became a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. in South Korea in the first half of last year.

In June last year, the company began selling dog-shaped robot "Spot" to US companies for $ 74,500 each.

However, it was the two humanoid robots "Atlas" that took the lead role in this video performance. While Boston Dynamics released in 2019 that Atlas would perform a 360-degree rotation jump,  this video showed that Atlas's abilities had greatly evolved over the past year.

The video also features a wheeled robot "Handle".

              It is amazing to know that Boston Dynamic could have developed its humanoid robots "Atlas" that can do gymnastics, including somersaulting, even better than human. It is a testimony to how the research on developing humanoid robots has gone through since Honda developed its “Ashimo” more than fifteen years go. For those who are interested in knowing how humanoid robots can do, please go to the official web-site of Boston Dynamic to have a look. It is shocking for me, in particular the somersaulting done by “Atlas”.

Ashimo (Source: Honda)

Notes:

1. "Do You Love Me" was a 1962 hit single recorded by the Contours. Mashed Potato was a popular dance move in the early 1960s. It was first made famous by James Brown in 1959 and used in his concerts regularly.

2. Boston Dynamics develops the humanoid robot "Atlas" and the dog robot “Spot”, among other products.