We use to think that robots are a thing a the far future but remind yourself... it's 2020! The robotics industry as well as artificial intelligence technologies have made astonishing improvements and are ready to shape our world. One thing is sure, automation and robots are a matter of when not a matter of if.
Let's meet 20 terrifying robots that will join our lives sooner than expected! We begin with Reem, a humanoid robot that can serve as a waiter, receptionist, guide, entertainer and even a teacher! Currently, in development byPal-Robotics, the engineers are aiming to fully develop Reem into a fully functioning friendly robot with the ultimate goal to be employed in airports, hospitals, schools, museums, and hotels. But this is nothing compared to what’s coming next!
The Ghost Swimmer is a new robot currently in development by the U.S Navy and it’s meant to replicate shark and big fish movement in order to monitor the oceans in stealth mode. It can dive into depths of more than 300 feet and because of its design, it’s not detectable by submarines!
If there is such development for the oceans imagine what’s is going on for land robots. You’ll be amazed!
The first robot of our list that features Artificial Intelligence! Bionic ants, inspired by, well… ants are meant to function on their own, making the right decisions to accomplish a given task.
Also, they’re meant to be used in swarms so they’ve complex and efficient communication systems to be able to do coordinated tasks.
This robot is built to replicate a human student child in order to mimic the process of learning thus testing Artifical Intelligence learning processes and techniques. Designed by the Osaka University in Japan, CB2 is the pioneer to the era of robots that teach other robots how to learn.
If this isn’t scary enough for you see what’s coming next!
If you're not scared until now maybe this robot will do the trick. Programmed to move and act exactly as a spider T8X can benefit from being able to sneak into tight spaces and into debris.
While it's purpose is to help humans, it sure does look intimidating. The next one is one of the creepiest Japanese robots currently in development!
Asimo is a human-sized robot that is made by Honda Robotics. It may look futuristic but it's shocking to learn that it is in development since 200!
It can recognize faces, objects, and gestures and will surely revolutionize the service-robot industry
One of the most interesting and impressive robots from the Google-owned company "Boston Dynamics". Rhex is a small sized waterproof robot with artificial limbs that allow it to walk into the unstable ground, slide into tight passages and reach even the most unapproachable locations.
Also, if it falls on its back, it can get itself up within seconds!
This robot behaves, looks and operates just like a real-life flying fox. Scientist modeled this robot after the flying fox because of it's versatility, size and ability to land and get up on the air without any problem.
Every time it takes off and every time it lands it collects data that are fed into a feedback loop that helps the robot improve its performance! The future is here!
Cheetah 3 is a robot made in MIT and it's capable of climbing stairs, walking and running over rough terrain and impressively jump up to 30 inches in the air!
All of this is because of its bionic limbs that allow complex movements and improved balance!
Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin also known as PETMAN is one of the most famous projects of Boston Dynamics. Its purpose is to mimic human behavior and movement with the ultimate goal to be employed by the military for rescue operations and dangerous missions.
It looks like a human, walks like a human and even has a mechanism to sweat like a human! How impressive!
Another one of Boston Dynamics' creations, LS3 is a four-legged robot that is intended for military use. Its name stands for Legged Squad Support System. It's capable of finding its own way if lost and working out the best solution for a mission.
Unfortunately, the project was abandoned because LS3 were extremely heavy and noisy for military operations. But there is a new project from Boston Dynamics that surely is here to stay!
Spot is a small-scalle LS3 with improved AI as well as weight and noise.
While spot may not be as strong as LS3 (or even Wild Cat which we will cover next) it definitely beats the other robots of its category because of its ability to jump, speed up and balance itself even after receiving a kick!
Made by Hankook Mirae Technology, Method-2 is the first robot that can stand on its two feet and be manned and operated by a human. Made in Korea, it's now in the testing stage.
While you could safely safe that it's made for military use, Method-2 is primarily focused to help humans in dangerous locations like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster area.
Atlas! Boston Dynamics' gem and most famous robot! Atlas is a humanoid robot that can be considered an improved version of PETMAN.
It can run, jump, stand on its own, pick up and move objects and run through rough terrain and even snow! Nothing seems to be able to stop this miracle of engineering. It's intended to be used for rescue operations!
Inspired by the famous Japanese anime and manga designed Kogoro Kurata contacted Suidobashi Heavy Industry to let him recreate the Kurata robot of its favorite anime. Standing 13 feet tall, Kurata is surely intimidating and impressive.
Itcan operate a rocket launcher and a BB minigun!
Even though Wild Cat is the next gen of Cheetah and LS3 robots by Boston Dynamics, the engineers decided to trade off a bit of speed for better balance and stability. And they succeeded!
Wild Cat is capable of reaching speeds up to 19.8 mph out of the laboratory in the real world and to any kind of elevation and terrain!
Stepping back from military and rescue robots, we meet Sophia, a social robot made to interact with humans. Sophia is designed to behave and replicate human expressions, tones, and body language.
She is constantly learning and improving her realism.
While it may not look as impressive as the robots from the other side of the Atlantic, Eelume, an eel-like robot made from Norwegian Robotics is revolutionizing under-water robotic technologies.
Eelume is destined to help maintain and secure underwater operation like deep sea cables that are unreachable by divers and even submarines!
A miniature version of the other four-legged robots from Boston Dynamics, spot mini is impressive because it can navigate on its own, maneuver itself around obstacles, open and close doors, and climbing stairs.
You only have to give it its objective and ti figures out on its own what needs to be done!
The most recent and impressive project of Boston Dynamics: Handle. Handle is a robot that runs on two wills and it's capable of lifting various objects and organize them according to instructions.
Also, it can navigate on its own and it can get itself up in case it falls! They're simply unstoppable!