Despite its intended opposite purpose, Boston Dynamics‘ robotic puppy Sparkles may be the stuff of nightmares.
The Boston Dynamics crew produced Sparkles, Spot’s glittering cousin, for International Dance Day. Styled like a dazzling blue muppet, Sparkles flaunted some rather impressive skills.
Through the power of dancing, Spot is making friends with another unusual dog, according to Boston Dynamics.
Sparkles, please meet. On April 29, in observance of the day, the team uploaded a video of the two robot dogs dancing on their YouTube account.
Before starting to dance, it appears as though the dogs kiss. Furthermore, Sparkles attracted the attention of the audience despite Spot’s obvious familiarity and easy recognition.
Some people took to social media to voice their opinions on Sparkles. One viewer, Alan wrote on X: ‘This dancing robot dog won’t give you nightmares at all. Nope.’
Another one, Alan Cross wrote: ‘The last thing I would want would be a dancing blue robot dog’
In the comment section on the YouTube video, one viewer wrote: ‘How nice of them to not want to scare us when we’re being rounded up by robots. Very considerate. Thanks.’
However, some people thought Sparkles is adorable.
On X one user, Kellyl8n, wrote: ‘Sparkles and Spot, robo dogs dancing… cute!’
Another user, Lisbeth, wrote: ‘When Spot twirls with Sparkles, it’s a waltz of wonder – our hearts leap, tech sings, as metal meets magic in the dance of dreams, bridging worlds with every whimsical whirl!’
And a third said: ‘Spot and Sparkles, the newest dynamic duo of the dance floor!’
Boston Dynamics explained: ‘Sparkles is a custom costume designed just for Spot to explore the intersections of robotics, art, and entertainment.’
The dogs were trained using Choreographer, a dance-dedicated system made available by Boston Dynamics with entertainment and media industry customers in mind.
The fun routine highlights the complex software built to take advantage of the machine’s overall manoeuvrability, balance, and precision.
For people who want to buy Spot and make it dance, they can select ‘high’ level options instead of creating a dance for the robot to do.
‘If asked to do something physically impossible, or if faced with an environmental challenge like a slippery floor, Spot will find the possible motion most similar to what was requested and do that instead – analogously to what a human dancer would do,’ the company explains.
The new video comes shortly after Boston Dynamics revealed its new Atlas 2.0 robot, after retiring its predecessor, Atlas.
