Watch this Boston Dynamics SpotMini robot dance to Bruno Mars
By now, most of us are probably familiar with the SpotMini robot from Boston Dynamics. The SpotMini has been the subject of quite a few videos where Boston Dynamics flexes its robotics know-how, but the video that was published today is quite unlike any other we've seen so far. In it, we get to watch the SpotMini dance to "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.
Apologies if the video embedded below gets the catchy song stuck in your head for hours or days afterward, but it might be worth that risk to see the SpotMini's moves. As it turns out, the little robot has skill on the dance floor, not only swaying and bopping along to the music, but also breaking out the running man at a couple of points. With that, we're imagining many people are coming to the realization that this robot is a better dancer than they are.
At certain points, even the SpotMini's attachable arm gets in on the action, so the robot is definitely putting its entire body into this dance routine. The SpotMini seems remarkably flexible as it dances along, which is impressive enough on its own. Have a look for yourself in the video below.
At this point, we've seen a handful of videos that exhibit the capabilities of the SpotMini and its larger cousin, the Atlas. At times, these abilities seem outright insane, with the Atlas in particular capable of doing some crazy things.
Earlier this year, Boston Dynamics announced that it's actually preparing to launch consumer sales for the SpotMini. The company plans to produce 100 SpotMinis by the end of this year, scaling up production in 2019. We don't know how much it'll cost, but after seeing all that the SpotMini can do, we probably shouldn't expect it to be cheap – a reason why Boston Dynamics will target businesses before it tries to get the SpotMini in homes.