Late on Friday, news came out that Google has acquired Boston Dynamics, makers of some of the scariest-looking robots you’ve been watching on YouTube over the past few years. You know the ones: WildCat, LS3, Atlas, Petman, Cheetah, BigDog, SandFlea, RHex, RISE and LittleDog.
They jump high, they run fast, they move like humans, they sneak through the brush and through the water, and they can be kicked without falling down.
This follows the previous week’s news that Google had acquired seven other robotics companies for its secretive robot lab headed by former Android chief Andy Rubin. Rubin confirmed the Boston Dynamics acquisition in a tweet.
The future is looking awesome!
http://t.co/iFA53b9qDC
— Andy Rubin (@Arubin) December 14, 2013
To put things into more terrifying perspective, here are videos of each of Boston Dynamics’ robots:
Petman
WildCat
LS3
Atlas
Cheetah
BigDog
SandFlea Jumping Robot
RHex
RISE
LittleDog
Yep, this company belongs to Google now. And here’s a look at some of the other robot models from companies Google has also picked up.
Boston Dynamics has worked with DARPA in the past. According to the New York Times, Google said it will honor existing military contracts, but doesn’t plan to move toward becoming a military contractor.
Image: Boston Dynamics