LegLab

In a previous life, the Boston Dynamics founders developed a new breed of dynamic robots. Here are clips from those early one-legged, two-legged and four-legged robots developed at Carnegie Mellon (1980-1986) and MIT (1987-1995).

[@MonarchXXII]

It's like watching old aperture science videos.

[@arbyyyyh]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this... it's kind of creepy knowing that they've been working on this stuff for this long and we've only started seeing the more polished stuff in more recent years.

[@sang-yunkim4624]

I think so too.

[@ivanakarain1532]

Lol yes)

[@fallofboots]

SAME

[@eeepppeee]

Yes. But I love reading old comments

[@jamescioffi3796]

Is it me, or do these robots look like they are having fun.

[@Karuiko]

Jolly happy day.

[@IsaArts2930]

Lets see.. -Jumping gleefully: Check -Doing actions: Check -Randomly flipping: Check Yep, they are

[@Titiisakakakak]

James Cioffi so you would think someone having a seizure is fun?

[@Shalami]

they are people too!

[@ikidu1102]

I get it's just a joke, but I still want to clarify this: No, you are just anthropomorphizing them. They don't have "fun" nor do they feel any emotion.

[@RussianOrphan1]

Watching these robots running around like there's no tomorrow puts a smile on my face.

[@mozog1g2]

RussianOrphan1 cause there willl be no tomorrow one theyvare set out

[@Jamesdavey358]

@@mozog1g2 lol

[@carso1500]

compare this things to atlas or handle, technology has really come far

[@williamsmith6921]

@@petemiller519 as long as I live 70-80 years I don't care what happens to humanity afterwards

[@tavlingapa]

Very true

[@legatusondorius]

Yeah and Spot

[@MentalParadox]

Not really. This is pretty steady and slow progression in 40 (!!) years.

[@alexhackett1312]

It's skipping along so happy and free.

[@RussianOrphan1]

That was unbelievably funny

[@monkeawarenessclub9800]

And to think this is still impressive even for today’s standards. Boston dynamics was always ahead of their time...

[@xanderdownunder1995]

Yes, sir. the doodads are at peak efficiency

[@artifexone2986]

To think this technology is almost 40 years old at it's earliest...

[@Jesse-jp8bt]

"Yes sir, the doodads are running at peak efficiency"

[@OodlesMyNoodles]

I love how they all start cheering when it does a flip

[@apersonontheinternet7595]

Something feels weird seeing a pair of disembodied legs running around and doing tricks.

[@jiansenxmu]

1:01, after decades of efforts, Atlas finally made it recently.

[@pan_czerwony5437]

Jiansen Zheng atlas can stand up

[@pan_czerwony5437]

Jiansen Zheng atlas can stand up.Thats the problem

[@mel_energy]

Dies anybody else want to mount a chair on one of those things and ride it?

[@SapphFire]

Me :D

[@oikura]

ｈ

[@IsaArts2930]

Hell yeah, only if it wasn't that noisy

[@williamsmith6921]

Y..... Y.... E.... E.... E.. S... S....

[@raytastic2461]

@@SapphFire you here? :D

[@afterarrival8169]

The progress they have made over the years is mind blowing.

[@superscaryguy01]

The first one looks like a UFO on a pogo stick.

[@327Soccer]

0:53 me when I get a 100 on my test

[@hoov_er3735]

without studying

[@SillyApe]

I'm not sure why but I laughed my ass off when I saw that comment

[@angeevids5294]

No...

[@doorhanger9317]

Pogo-Trons and backflip bots? only scientists

[@alexanderleeart]

That front flip is incredibly impressive.

[@MGSFan09]

What I really like about these machines is that they work in an almost completely different way to other robots. These robots can actually react to environments around them and it can keep its balance, it doesn't have some crappy pre-written program just running in the background. BigDog and PETMAN show this well when the guys comes up and tries to push the robot over, it just instantly reacts to this force and balances itself. Pure f*cking genius!

[@robinfiler8707]

why aren't their more robots like this?? seriously these robots are amazing they can run really fast and can jump really high and can do back flips!

[@andyhaochizhang]

Robin Filer because most of them are only "dynamically stable", which means they can only be upright when they keep jumping. Also without joints they are not good at handling tough terrain which is a major goal for the study of robotics legged locomotion.

[@arianya7076]

*there

[@KingThrillgore]

Locomotion is hard. Really hard.

[@ssickkenn8990]

Robin Filer because straight legs are unpractical in a real world. they do run fast but robots now can run fast and are more capable.

[@williamsmith6921]

@@arianya7076 OH WOw loOK AT Me i aM sO SMArT And i hAvE nO FRieNdS sO My oNLY souRCE OF ENJoYMENT is correcTing People'S GraMMar onliNE

[@ManaLotion]

the balance that these people have engineered into their machines is wonderful!

[@KingThrillgore]

I remember seeing this same footage from a NatGeo special in 1994.

[@euphorbia8106]

Needs to be played with vaporwave

[@Zybit1423]

0:34 If thisthing comes running for you, you’re dead

[@xxxMEXICANxNINJAxxx]

To think we came from this...to a walking humanoid robot. This is truly amazing :)

[@SonicBoone56]

I've always wondered how those data and power cables didn't snap when doing flips.

[@surfcello]

Wow that's soooo cool! For the cantering: notice that a horse does not place each pair of legs simultaneously, rather one slightly before the other. That would give it a smoother motion.

[@Fummy007]

0:55 Holy- that must have been the first time a robot ever did a blackflip and back in the 80s.

[@jamescrider007]

Amazing. They have surely come a long way. Good job.

[@2400dimension]

It started with the Genereal Electrics walking jeep. That was back in the sixties. The ideas just surpassed the tech so the shelved it and waited for everything to catch up but it was amazing how far they got. The kind of progress that made you wonder just how far they could have pushed it if fueled by another world war.

[@ThomasFarquhar2]

That one robot that does front flips and backflips still amazes me

[@Araylie]

So much progress since then

[@joeyjoe308]

0:58-1:11 That clip was done for the short film called "On the Run" taken from "Computer Animation Festival vol. 2.0"

[@vierrewest]

robot: get on my level humans i have no fear

[@angeevids5294]

Newt Funny

[@emmett8940]

i love like at 1:19 the robot's like: lets go on an ADVENTURE and the engineer's like ...not again...

[@jacobpugpoirier3350]

0:58 like that's a impressive even now. But I can't imagine how relieved, excited, and overall the amount of accomplishment you feel when you see your creation do a literal backflip. In the 80s BTW 🤯 Maybe it's just because I was born in the early 2000s, but hearing about life before 2000 just sounded like they didn't have much technology at all. But I'm sure that's wrong and they were more advanced than I thought.

[@cykaxd1503]

00:24 "I'm a lil teacup short and stout, tip me over and pour me out"

[@mikeissweet]

Brilliant! I love seeing the development of this tech. What an incredible accomplishment!

[@Izakokomarixyz]

I like the robots that come out of Boston Dynamics... They never disappoint me...

[@StephanoBro1997]

Very cool; could you make a rideable version?

[@Gam3Junkie7]

Extremely fun! You enjoy making them don't you? The initial high-speed capability for some of these models are far more impressive than BigDog or PETMAN but I can see how they lack in the utility department. Regardless it must have been very inspiring to see these early models take off and shine in the areas you hoped they would.

[@rameyzamora1018]

The future robots will want to see these ancestors.

[@spitfirebird]

If these robots had more modern technology and had a screen that showed emotions, these could totally pass as pet robots. *why do i want one now?*

[@olivertitus1412]

Those frontflips are damn amazing

[@ririnazaberi136]

These robots are awesome!

[@tod4y]

Wonderful to see where it came from and how far till now.

[@john13200242]

That one at 30 seconds just freaks me out imagine that thing chasing you.

[@seberous]

This is awesome. It is old, but still cool. I would love to own one!

[@VacuousCat]

Doodle jump???

[@vizkiz.4431]

This was many Years ago and they already learned how to get them to start doing backflips.

[@MinimumHeadroom]

Terminator 5: Hopping day.

[@ReadingRambo152]

Watching these videos in 2024 just after Boston Dynamics introduced their new humanoid Atlas robot is amazing!

[@ianm3262]

I cannot wait to see these types of videos in an intro compilation to a movie of robots invading the world

[@syntaxvrc]

that 4-legged prototype looks like a walking table

[@iampedro513]

“Yes sir, the doodads are operating at peak efficiency”

[@cheezicow8948]

“Yay!!! The engineers said i get to go to the park today :DDDD”

[@cpikl2003]

you plan skynet since 1980... TERMINATOR WASN`T SCI FI!

[@chadhartsees]

Does anyone else remember a 1980's/1990(X) documentary on the Discovery Channel featuring some of these and others from Japan? It had a lot of classical music and a British/Australian female narrator. An early segment featured the old GE 'Walking Truck' clip.

[@AzurelosDLR]

Man.... this was long time ago too... amazing.

[@noelgomile3675]

Wow how time just makes things progress so much, I'm so proud of humanity sometimes.

[@user-is3qt2yf2j]

The 2nd to 6th one was so awesome

[@Stalky24]

I dont think I've ever seen someone as happy as that 2-legged robot dude

[@Nashy76]

They have come along way since this

[@D3lor34n]

This is so frickin' creepy. But amazing looking back, while modern Atlas versions doing parcour like it's nothing.

[@andrews4030]

this is amazing, even today 2019

[@qpwodkgh2010]

They have come a long way.

[@IraQNid]

I remember this being featured in a computer animation video way back before DVDs were commonplace.

[@squarec4t]

just imagine that you have the brains to make one of these. the joy....

[@Nightwinguuuj8798]

they've come a long way

[@timur5241]

And that was filmed in 80s Holy...

[@spugintrntl]

I saw this years ago on American Scientific Frontiers... always wondered where it went.

[@NotASpyReally]

I started to watch this while listening to Ochre - Glassmaker, and it fits very well.

[@CharonTheSabercat]

These are the happiest little skipping robots I have ever seen.

[@RobertSnyder808]

They look so happy

[@Friedel009]

Fantastic---especially the saltos

[@omegapatten]

1:05 Thats it, THATS IT DEAAAWAWAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Mayday_Everyday]

Yes sir, the doodads are operating at peak effeciency

[@serious_ilya]

0:30 la-lala-lalalala

[@3229dan]

until... 0:38

[@ImKent]

From this happy thing to atlas, that does parkour

[@leon.690sm9]

Do an updated version of this Video please

[@pantstime4529]

The Pixar lamp needs to step up his game

[@soundwavethedragon1977]

the fact that it's possible to make machinery like this is actually insane! 0o0

[@Shmeeb]

Look at how far we've come.

[@BrightPage174]

This just made my day

[@ZheKaYT]

Они еще не знали, как далеко они зайдут...

[@AmericanelST205]

GREAT JOB

[@arielaye3648]

they sure are have done a lot! keep it up

[@nickpocalypse5308]

"Yes, Sir. The doodads are operating at peak efficiency."

[@ForgetfulHatter]

0:52 holy shit i didn't expect that! :O

[@Craydon]

I just love those flips, I wonder if big dog can do that?

[@harshadtkmuhammed8467]

Great job👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@stqrs4436]

Yes sir, the doodads are operating at peak efficiency

[@an8thdimensionalbeing142]

0:29 that ones going uncomfortably fast.

[@LezPanLezama]

Simplemente genial!

[@Ldizzy1978]

Amazing!

[@Fuzzypanda110]

I didnt know we had this technology until now, let alone in the 80's and 90's

[@aronchai]

@Puleczech No, cockroaches can learn, track food, avoid light, and engage in complex cleaning and mating behaviors. They can also adapt easily to rough terrain, unlike these robots, and don't need to be plugged in :) . Not dissing the robot creators in any way, I'm just saying that they still have a ways to go before they create anything as sophisticated as a cockroach.

[@SwedishSteve]

Yes sir the doodads are working at peak efficiency

[@HarrisonBorbarrison]

Just happily strolling allowing.

[@94thts]

@JDMAero I think they were waiting to see if it could keep on walking after doing the flip or if it would lose balance.