Anyone currently worrying about artificial intelligence taking over the world may want to swing by the Boston Dynamics AI Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While walking around, they'd see that the robots that might lead a future uprising are still trying to tie their shoelaces, metaphorically speaking. The Institute's founder and executive director, Marc Raibert, has built some of the world's most famous robots at his previous venture, Boston Dynamics. The company, acquired by Hyundai in 2020, has developed legged machines capable of running, leaping, and of course dancing with spryness that can veer into the uncanny. Raibert's creations include the four-legged, pony-sized Big Dog; its smaller dog-like buddy, Spot; and an acrobatic humanoid called Atlas.

Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics announced the launch of the Boston Dynamics AI Institute. The research-first organization's goal is to make fundamental advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and intelligent machines. As an initial investment, Hyundai and Boston Dynamics make an initial investment of over $400 million in the new Institute, which will be led by Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics. With a pool of elite talent in AI, robotics, machine learning, software, and engineering, the Boston Dynamics AI Institute wants to develop future generations of intelligent machines. Combining the best features of university research labs and corporate development labs, the Institute will be working in four core technical areas: cognitive AI, athletic AI, and organic hardware design, as well as ethics and policy.

Boston Dynamics is a cutting-edge robotics company that's spent decades behind closed doors making robots that move in ways we've only seen in science fiction films. They occasionally release videos on YouTube of their life-like machines spinning, somersaulting or sprinting, which are greeted with fascination and fear. We've been trying, without any luck, to get into Boston Dynamics' workshop for years, and a few weeks ago they finally agreed to let us in. After working out strict COVID protocols, we went to Massachusetts to see how they make robots do the unimaginable. From the outside, Boston Dynamics headquarters looks pretty normal. If Willy Wonka made robots, his workshop might look something like this. There are robots in corridors, offices and kennels.

Soon, you'll be able to call one of Boston Dynamics' robo-dogs one of your own. The scarily lifelike robot is finally set to go on sale later this year, Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert told The Verge. It's not yet clear how much Spot will cost buyers, but it's rumored to carry a five-digit price tag. Soon, you'll be able to call one of Boston Dynamics' robo-dogs one of your own. Boston Dynamics is still testing the four-legged robots out in a variety of environments, such as package delivery and surveying work, according to the Verge. 'We're just doing some final tweaks to the design,' Raibert told the Verge.

A new demonstration of Boston Dynamics' Spot Mini proves humans shouldn't anticipate a robo-dog uprising anytime soon. During Amazon's inaugural Re:MARS conference in Las Vegas, a four-legged robo-dog was paraded around the stage, to show off its impressive ability to climb stairs, grab things and navigate objects. As it turns out, the Spot Mini isn't the most graceful machine, however, as the robo-dog took a tumble on stage in front of a live audience. Boston Dynamics brought out Spot not just to show off its advanced capabilities, but also to announce that the device is almost ready for commercial release. During a demonstration, the Spot robot suddenly began flailing and crashed to the floor with a thud, generating a concerned'Uh oh' out of Marc Raibert, CEO of Boston Dynamics. Raibert explained that the machine had failed and would take a few minutes to recover.

It's never been clear whether robotics company Boston Dynamics is making killing machines, household helpers, or something else entirely. For nine years, the secretive firm – which got its start with US military funding – has unnerved people around the world with YouTube videos of experimental robots resembling animal predators. In another, a small wheeled rover nicknamed SandFlea abruptly flings itself onto rooftops – and back down again. Now, in a rare interview, Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert has shed new light on his work, claiming the machines could be used as servants rather than weapons. Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert (pictured with his creation SpotMini) doesn't rule out future military applications for his terrifying machines.

Just a day after sharing a video that shows Boston Dynamics' creepy-capable SpotMini headless robotic dog-thing navigating the company campus all on its own, including stairs and other obstacles, the company has announced it plans to start selling the bot soon. "SpotMini is in pre-production now," said founder Marc Raibert on stage at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics on Friday. Raibert says they've produced ten prototypes so far in house, and plan to build 100 more this year using contract manufacturers before ramping up production in 2019. He added that Boston Dynamics is working on proofs of concept with a certain number of potential customers. The CEO declined to say what the price point for SpotMini will be just yet.

We knew that Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of telecom giant SoftBank, loved robots. Now the Japanese billionaire is about to significantly expand his collection. Minutes ago, SoftBank announced that it will be acquiring Boston Dynamics and Schaft for an undisclosed sum, in order to "collaborate in advancing the development of smart robotics technologies." Boston Dynamics and Schaft were two of the nine robot companies that Google acquired in 2013 to form the core of its robotics division, headed by Android founder Andy Rubin. As far as anyone could tell, not much happened after all those companies became part of Google, and not much continued to happen through 2016, much to the frustration of roboticists everywhere.

On Day 5 of TED2017, one two-hour session included a in-depth conversation with Elon Musk and a powerful talk from writer Anne Lamott. The themes they shared echoed throughout the conference. Over the past five days, the TED2017 conference has explored the theme "The Future You." This has spanned an incredible number of ideas on a huge array of topics. Below, a tour through some of the key themes that emerged -- through the week and in the double-stuffed session of day 5. How will artificial intelligence reshape our world?

When Boston Dynamics introduced its massively upgraded Atlas last year, we said the robot could "do things we've never seen other robots doing before, making it one of the most advanced humanoids in existence." But now, after seeing the video that Boston Dynamics just released to officially unveil its newest creation, Handle, a sort of Atlas on wheels, we'll just say it again: Handle can do things we've never seen other robots doing before, making it one of the most advanced humanoids in existence. "Wheels are a great invention," Marc Raibert, founder and president of Boston Dynamics, tells IEEE Spectrum, adding that Handle, which uses a wheel-leg hybrid system, "can have the best of both worlds." You probably saw footage of Handle a few weeks ago, when Raibert gave a talk in California and someone filmed the screen with a phone and posted it on YouTube. When we asked Boston Dynamics about the leaked video, the company said it wasn't ready to discuss the new robot and suggested that we wait.