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Alex The Dog Picks A Fight With Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog

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technology-iconTechnology
clock-iconPUBLISHEDMarch 2, 2016

Alex The Dog Picks A Fight With Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog

Tom Hale headshot

Tom Hale

Tom Hale headshot

Tom Hale

Senior Journalist

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture.

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Senior Journalist

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture.View full profile

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture.

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An epic battle between machine and “Alex the dog." jurvetson/YouTube.

While the technology is impressive, it’s safe to say that most people find the Boston Dynamics "Spot" robots pretty creepy. Well, it appears Alex the dog has got our backs.

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The video shows the dog barking at the canine robot as it hops around, until eventually the robot bows down in defeat at his operator's command.

But this is more than just a dog doing dog stuff. Alex is a pretty popular character in the robotics and tech world. According to Verge, Alex the dog belongs to Andy Rubin, who co-founded Android and was previously the manager of Google's robotics wing – which bought Boston Dynamics back in 2013. The video was filmed by Steve Jurvetson, a businessman who currently sits on the board for Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla Motors.

But while Alex continues to hang out with the world’s tech giants, Spot the robot and his creepy swagger is becoming overshadowed by Boston Dynamics' newly improved humanoid robot Atlas. Maybe that's why he's been so confrontational lately. 

 

 

[H/T: The Verge]
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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDMarch 2, 2016

Written by Tom Hale

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