Oh great, this four-legged robot can use an elevator
Welcome to the future. See a quadrapedal robot use its skills to call up an elevator and get on board.
You're being chased by a four-legged robot creature. You run into the lobby of a high-rise building, summon an elevator and leap in, confident the robot won't be able to follow you. You're wrong.
A video released by the Robotic Systems Lab in Switzerland shows a dog-like quadrepedal robot named Anymal summoning and catching a ride on an elevator.
Boing Boing brought our attention to this important and entertaining development in robotics. Anymal Research is a community dedicated to advancing legged robotics. It counts educational institutions ETH Zurich, the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh among its members.
"This video shows ongoing research towards using the feet of a legged robot for simple manipulation tasks," the description notes. Anymal locates the button with the help of a QR code and easily reaches up to press it before boarding the elevator. The video is sped up, which gives it a bit of comedic flair.
It's a good thing Anymal is kind of cute, otherwise it might be seem like the harbinger of a robot apocalypse. I, for one, welcome our future robot quadrapeds.