From the makers of Big Dog and Alpha Dog, Boston Dynamics has introduced an update to its humanoid robot PETMAN. In the latest video, PETMAN can walk, twist, and raise its arms as if it’s a human under that camo suit pretending to be a robot.
The PETMAN was designed to simulate military soldiers and their movements under protective suits, though the footage makes PETMAN appear more like Boston Dymanics’ path to creating the terminator. Decked out in full battle gear, including a gas mask and chemical protection suit, the PETMAN can march, turn, and readjust its stance in a fairly fluid manner. At one point, it looks more like the PETMAN was readying itself for a tai chi session than battle.
In addition to its human-like movements, the PETMAN also comes embedded with sensors on its skin layer to detect chemicals leaking through the suit, identifying any protective gear damage. “It is used to test the performance of protective clothing designed for hazardous environments,” Boston Dynamics described on its YouTube page. Additionally, the robot can mimic properties in human sweat production to help researchers learn how to better regulate internal suit temperature. Yeah, that’s right, scientists have created a robot that knows how to sweat. Technology!
The DARPA-sponsored project, once again, is nothing short of amazing yet terrifying. The project is also funded by Department of Defense’s (DoD) Chemical and Biological Defense program, possibly paving the way for these mega robots to one day stand in line with human soldiers in combat. Imagine if the company combines Big Dog’s ability to hurl cinderblocks with PETMAN’s size and agility? We’re not gonna mess with that one.
Watch the video below to see PETMAN doing his thing.
San Francisco startup Dimensional advertised for people to walk robot dogs through city streets. The New York Times reported that the job could include carrying a roughly 33-pound robot back to the office if it overheated. A lift home is an awkward requirement for a labor-saving machine.
Keeping the hardware running is only one challenge. Anthropic's robotics tests found that language models mostly failed when controlling joints directly, but did better when directing trained controllers. Giving an AI agent a body doesn't teach it to handle ordinary household objects.
Soon, a mattress protector may be more than a bed cover. Australian medtech company Sleeptite and researchers at RMIT University have received a US patent for FlexiSense, a smart bedding technology that tracks body position and posture to help caregivers identify when older residents may be at risk of falling.
The technology is being developed for Sleeptite’s in-bed monitoring system, REMi, and was recently on display at The MedTech Conference in Boston. A peer-reviewed study in Flexible and Printed Electronics says the sensors can also be made at scale without sacrificing performance or durability.
AI companies spend enormous amounts of time convincing us their technology is safe and secure. But what happens when those same companies become targets of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks? Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now facing that question. According to a Washington Post report, cybersecurity startup Cathedral discovered vulnerabilities that let its researchers access sensitive information in Anthropic's internal systems.
The researchers used AI agents to identify potential entry points in less than 12 hours. Interestingly, they didn't need to crack Claude itself. Instead, they exploited weaknesses in third-party business applications that Anthropic uses for everyday operations. Anthropic's security testing program disclosed the findings, which allows outside researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities.