# What's new, Atlas? (AI, Robotics and tech thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952 "2017-11-18T02:39:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/161 "2019-12-22T00:04:06Z")
Double post; it’s taken over my computer; run for your lives!! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/162 "2019-12-27T00:00:23Z")
[VW has made](https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/26/vw-ev-charging-robot/) a [gonk](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/GNK_power_droid) [droid](https://www.starwars.com/databank/gnk-droid). ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/163 "2020-01-23T22:37:45Z")
[Adam Savage gets a hold of spot.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7s1sr4JdlI) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/164 "2020-01-23T23:39:50Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [VW has made](https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/26/vw-ev-charging-robot/) a [gonk](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/GNK_power_droid) [droid](https://www.starwars.com/databank/gnk-droid). If they don’t program [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66m52YFZBg) into it, there’s no justice in this world. > [@mikecurtis](#): > > [Adam Savage gets a hold of spot.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7s1sr4JdlI) WOW! Just WOW! From following this thread, I expected Spot (when he fell off the rocks the first time) to holler, “What the F\*&#, [del]Kevin[/del] Adam!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/165 "2020-02-14T01:32:40Z")
[is a 12:31 video; I highly recommend watching it. Here’s some of the featured things so y’all know what you’ll be seeing: Printing human skin, including ears. Printing metal for small objects. AIs designing and printing metal objects that look like they have organic origins. New and freaky materials to work with, like things that react to moisture or sunlight. Printing metal for extremely large objects (like a rocket fuel tank) Printing and then recycling the material… in space! In a nutshell, 3D printing is already changing the way we develop and manufacture things, and it’s about to explode into normalcy. ETA: Bonus! [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyaocKS3sfg]Adam Savage has set up his Spot as a Rickshaw puller](]3D Printing Is Changing the World[/url)! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/166 "2020-02-14T02:44:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > \ ETA: Bonus! [Adam Savage has set up his Spot as a Rickshaw puller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyaocKS3sfg)! That is just too cool! You know who needs to be in that rickshaw? Abby Sciuto! In full Goth regalia! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/167 "2020-02-14T20:21:06Z")
Who is Abby Sciuto? I’ve never heard the name. ETA: Googled the name. Not sure why a fictional character needs to be in Goth costume and in the rickshaw, but hey, w/e. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/168 "2020-02-25T21:00:23Z")
[Amazon has opened the first cashier-less grocery store](https://apnews.com/623bd4cd2b6c949d9d9411090447c371). > [@](#): > > Called Amazon Go Grocery, the new store is an expansion of its 2-year-old chain of 25 Amazon Go convenience stores. It’s 10,400 square feet — more than five times the size of the convenience stores — and stocks much more beyond the sodas and sandwiches found at Amazon Go. > > Cameron Janes, who helps oversee Amazon’s physical stores, said the technology had to be tweaked to account for how people squeeze tomatoes to test for ripeness or rummage through avocados to find just the right one. Nothing at the store is weighed. One blood orange goes for 53 cents; a banana is 19 cents. I find this kinda puzzling, tho: > [@](#): > > Amazon also plans to open another type of grocery store in Los Angeles sometime this year, but the company said it won’t use the cashier-less technology at that location and has kept other details under wraps. The company declined to say if it plans to open more Amazon Go Grocery stores, and said there are no plans to bring the technology to Whole Foods stores. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/169 "2020-04-17T16:01:22Z")
[Adam Savage shows us how Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot works!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-PdPtqw78k) (19:52 video) This is a really good demonstration and explanation of how Spot works: what the controls are like, how much control you have over Spot, what Spot does on his own, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/170 "2020-04-23T17:19:27Z")
[That’s _Doctor_ Spot](https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/4/23/21231855/boston-dynamics-spot-robot-covid-19-coronavirus-telemedicine). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/171 "2020-07-28T21:01:28Z")
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) has begun actual construction using the component pieces! > **[France's global nuclear fusion device a puzzle of huge parts](https://apnews.com/article/c9e1780864431c3edcd1cc2c17568c54)** > > PARIS (AP) — A hugely ambitious project to replicate the energy of the sun is entering a critical phase, as scientists and technicians in southern France begin assembling giant parts of a nuclear fusion device, an international experiment aimed to... > [@](#): > > Billed as the world’s largest science project, ITER is gigantic. The circular device, called a tokamak, has a 30-meter circumference, stands 30 meters (100 feet) high, and is made up of more than a million parts constructed in numerous countries. > > Some pieces transported to France weigh several hundred tons. Tools to put the reactor together match that size, with giant lifts that must transfer components over the walls and down into “the pit.” A key component being built by the U.S., the Central Solenoid, is the most powerful of ITER’s numerous magnets. Together, they will be strong enough to lift an aircraft carrier. > > The project begun in 2006 is far from over. The experimental reactor is to head for another landmark moment in five years, described as a “trial run” when scientists launch what is called “First Plasma” showing that the machine functions, including magnetic fields and other operations. Be sure and check back here in five years for the testing! 😝 Seriously tho, this is very, very cool news! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/172 "2020-07-28T21:37:43Z")
Here’s a good 6 minute video on ITER: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bAw-rdl9YZg/maxresdefault.jpg "ITER: Assembly of world's largest nuclear fusion reactor begins | DW News") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAw-rdl9YZg) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/173 "2020-08-20T04:55:05Z")
Not atlas, but cool nonetheless! > **[Watch a tiny robot powered by alcohol](https://www.science.org/content/article/watch-tiny-robot-powered-alcohol)** > > Beetle-size machine can climb, crawl, and carry heavy objects—all without batteries ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/174 "2020-10-08T19:59:03Z")
Not sure if it was discussed in this thread or other ones, but there was a discussion on this board about further development of AlphaGo type bots for different games. Some people posited that Civilization would be extremely difficult because of different alliance systems. Not Civ, but some researchers at Facebook have made progress in Diplomacy, which also has shifting alliances. > **[2010.02923.pdf](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2010.02923.pdf)** > > 3.49 MB ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/175 "2020-11-12T18:38:01Z")
Check this out: > **[New device puts music in your head — no headphones required](https://apnews.com/article/new-tech-device-sound-beaming-noveto-38327ae5fe116080a5eaf2374eb0f5c8)** > > LONDON (AP) — Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favorite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you. > [@](#): > > Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favorite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you. > > That’s the possibility presented by “sound beaming,” a new futuristic audio technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday it will debut a desktop device that beams sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones. > > The company provided The Associated Press with an exclusive demo of the desktop prototype of its SoundBeamer 1.0 before its launch Friday. > > The listening sensation is straight out of a sci-fi movie. The 3-D sound is so close it feels like it’s inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them. > > Noveto expects the device will have plenty of practical uses, from allowing office workers to listen to music or conference calls without interrupting colleagues to letting someone play a game, movie or music without disturbing their significant others. > > The lack of headphones means it’s possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly. Heck, I want one for my desk at home. Curious how they do the low end tho… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/176 "2020-11-12T18:49:44Z")
HTF does that work? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/177 "2020-12-29T19:41:38Z")
Yes… yes I do! 😆 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fn3KWM1kuAw/maxresdefault.jpg "Do You Love Me?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3KWM1kuAw) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/178 "2020-12-29T20:19:21Z")
That’s the best thing I’ve seen all year! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/179 "2020-12-29T21:53:14Z")
Need to change the title to What’s new, Hyundai. > **[Hyundai bought Boston Dynamics for nearly $1B — now build a walking car!](https://thenextweb.com/news/hyundai-bought-boston-dynamics-for-nearly-1b-now-build-a-walking-car)** > > Hyundai just completed a deal to buy Boston Dynamics from SoftBank. I think it'sclear what everyone wants now, a walking car! Please! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952/180 "2020-12-29T23:04:51Z")
I’d like a self-driving car that can walk with mag-lev spherical wheels please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-new-atlas-ai-robotics-and-tech-thread/801952.md?page=10)