Robotics technology advancement is accelerating at a blistering pace. From remarkably dexterous humanoid designs to AI-guided robots that can creatively solve problems, these machines are displaying capabilities that seemed unfathomable just a decade ago.
As the surprises and delights of testing the boundaries of automation unfold in labs around the world, viral videos offer us a glimpse — lighting up social media feeds in the process.
The International Federation of Robotics reports that worldwide robot sales rose 31% to $11.2 billion in the first half of 2022. Shipments of service robots alone skyrocketed 85% year-over-year. Even more astounding, they predict the total installed base of professional service robots to grow from 11 million in 2021 to 31 million units by 2025!
Several categories are propelling this momentum, from warehouse fulfillment bots to cleaning drones to exoskeletons augmenting human efforts. This guide will highlight the 7 most viral examples that won over fans on social media through their game-changing capabilities.
Tesla Optimus – Elon‘s Dream of Affordable Humanoid Robots
The most discussed robot in 2022 was undoubtedly Tesla’s humanoid Optimus prototype. With aspiring specs like lifting up to 68 pounds repeatedly, carrying 45 pounds of cargo, and deadlifting 150 pounds, the bot matches humanstrength levels. Standing an impressive 5‘8" tall, Optimus runs on Tesla-built chips powering vehicle autopiloting capabilities.
This allows remarkably precise motor coordination and real-time data processing to handle dynamic physical tasks. During the AI Day demo, Optimus waved to cheering fans, walked briskly without losing balance, and gracefully picked up boxes, placing them on shelves with its synthetic humanlike hands. Musk believes that by harnessing economies of scale like their mass-produced vehicles, Tesla can build millions of these transformational bots priced affordably around $20,000 in the near future.
If costs can reach that range with today’s advanced feature set, we may soon see Optimus robots step in for repetitive manual labor across many industries. The potential to automate dangerous, boring, or strenuous workplace activities could free up humans for more meaningful and creative purposes.
Spot by Boston Dynamics – Four-Legged Vision of Utility
Under Google’s umbrella for several years, Boston Dynamics continuously wowed crowds with videos of its mechanized beasts carrying cargo, hiking trails, and recovering from aggressive shoves – all while maintaining upright equilibrium.
The 65-pound quadruped robot named Spot became the first BD bot available for commercial sale in mid-2020, now deployed in over 400 organizations globally. Renting for $2,500 a month, Spot assists with remote inspection of hazardous sites, captures inventory data in warehouses, provides overwatch security on corporate properties and construction jobs, and more.
Easy to control, Spot gathers critical sensory intel recapping its findings via handy mobile app interfaces. Sturdy legs allow this clever canine to climb stairs, cross difficult terrain and operate unaffected by temperatures from -4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
With trailblazing mobility plus an array of mountable sensing payloads like lidars, thermal cameras, and radiation detectors, Spot shines brightest keeping human personnel safely out of harm’s way.
ANYmal by ANYbotics – Conquering Stairs and Storms
While four-legged designs like Spot lead the charge proving quadruped versatility, Swiss-born ANYmal from robotics startup ANYbotics stands out for its rugged, weather-resistant build. Designed for industrial inspection and monitoring tasks, ANYmal’s hardcore casing shields sensitive inner workings across its carbon fiber legs.
This protection allows ANYmal to operate reliably in skyscraper construction zones, offshore oil rigs, mines or disaster sites. Able to tackle tough terrain, hazmat situations or heavy payloads are no match for ANYmal either thanks to high torque servomotors powering its joints. Its dynamic leg coordination strategies help traverse uneven floors, gaps, debris and even staircases smoothly.
But arguably the most crucial capability making ANYmal a viral hit is its intelligent visual perception and analysis. Streaming real-time sensor data including mapping info guides remote navigation. If on fully autonomous patrols, ANYmal uses lidar and stereo vision data to chart efficient paths through almost any commercial work environment confronting fluid challenges.
Digit by Agility Robotics – Birdlike Bipedalism
Enabling human-level mobility in robotics unlocks doors for automating nearly any manual labor. Striving towards that lofty goal, startup Agility Robotics built an anthropomorphic bipedal bot named Digit inspired by the efficient stride biomechanics of birds.
Staying upright on two feet across random terrains without losing balance has proved an enormously tricky challenge in robotics. By modeling the lightweight, springloaded gait which allows avians to cover miles of uneven ground smoothly, Digit makes a remarkable case for the possibilities of steady legged locomotion.
In viral footage, Digit calmly traversed crowded sidewalks, adjusted stride to accommodate objects tossed in its path, and reacted to people cutting it off. The effect resembles a human hurrying along their way to finish a delivery. But it’s the adept balance corrections that convince viewers of Digit’s solid footing.
For now, Digit’s picking up packages autonomously from self-driving vans delivering to client doorsteps. But if two-legged designs someday approach human mobility and balance abilities, exponential productivity gains across manual labor could transform the workforce.
Method-3 Walking Mech Suit by Vitaly Bulgarov
Beyond wheeled or legged robots operating independently,a particularly intriguing notion is using powered exoskeletons to supercharge human strength, speedᴈand enduranceᴈon the job. Futurist designer Vitaly Bulgarov conjured an idea mecha suit enthusiasts geek out over with his Method-3 bipedal prototype.
Standing over 13 feet tall and weighing over 1.5 tons, Method-3 allows pilots to hoist heavy construction equipment like it’s featherweight. Recent viral clips showed the mech nimbly keeping balance as pilots mimicked walking motions inside bulky hydraulic-powered leg braces. Thrusters estimated at over 60 horsepower handle giant steps smoothly.
While purely experimental today, you can imagine such man-machine mashups assisting firefighters heft longer ladders, disabled workers move freely or output superhuman productivity in shipping warehouses. Exoskeletons feel like a transitional evolutionary stage before full automation matures. But they deliver tangible benefits here and now multiplting human capacities.
Atlas Doing Parkour by Boston Dynamics
When Boston Dynamics’ humanoid Atlas robot returned to viral stardom by breezing through a tricky parkour routine, brand fans celebrated. The footage showed Atlas displaying agile dexterity in the form of aerial flips, jump spins, sideways shuffles and even one-handed vaults over obstacles at height.
Lightning quick motor coordination keeps the pacing crisp as Atlas sticks each dismount. DARPA funded much of Atlas’ early development focused on emergency response scenarios, aiming for versatility to access disasters sites. That initiative bore fruit wonderfully evident in how this resilient bot regains balance mid-stumble without breaking pace.
Seeing Atlas smoothly chain such dynamic body maneuvers hints at a future infusion of automated help tackling dangerous high-risk jobs. Construction, mining, search and rescue or even forthcoming colonization of the Moon and Mars feel more feasible with tireless mechanical assistants possessing ample athleticism innate to the role.
DALL-E 2: AI Robot Artist Conjures Any Image You Describe
What if artificial intelligence could visualize any scene you describe – like say, an astronaut riding a horse on Mars? We’d typically think such a fanciful image exists only in imagination. Well, the jawdroppingly skilled DALL-E 2 generative AI robot artist brings such wacky concepts visually to life!
Created by leading AI research company OpenAI, DALL-E 2 takes a text caption from users requesting an image of virtually any (appropriate) idea. Then it spits back realistic renderings depicting the caption vividly. This creative bot samples relationships across billions of online images and extracts patterns allowing it to stitch disparate concepts together originally.
The results span from quirky to sublime, filling subjective gaps that rigidly logical computer outputs couldn’t satisfy. Its interface makes DALL-E 2 feel like an artificial brainstorming partner unconstrained by physics, budgets orImpossibilities. Just feed it a caption like “bears playing cello” or “robot bartender” and enjoy the delightful weirdness materializing before you!
Automating the Future – With Care and Responsibility
This lineup of social media robot stars highlights accelerating momentum. Each shines where humans face physical challenges or safety risks if carrying out those functions alone. Automating dangerous, dull, dirty or precise tasks makes for big productivity wins.
Yet we must thoughtfully guide innovation too – studying how to assist displaced workers, safeguard data privacy, identify harms… The pace of progress compels us to commemorate this technical magic while discussing solutions for societal priorities too.
If steered positively, expanded lifesaving and life-enhancing applications could ripple across hospitals, farms, labs, roads and homes in coming years. We have an opportunity to uplift more people globally through inclusive tech adoption. With ethical accountability and vision, a robot-enhanced civilization supporting human dignity seems well within reach!
