Sunday in the park…..cool breezes and a picnic…..mind calm and the demon politics is resting in the old pc……

Some of this techno stuff I write about just gets scarier and scarier…..

I have mentioned several times that the villain from the Terminator series, SkyNet, may not be such a piece of fiction after all….I mentioned the AI that is making independent rational decisions and numerous new steps forward in robotics….all point to an approaching time when robots will play a major role in our lives….and there is another major step forward……

It swings its arms and moves its legs just like the soldiers it is meant to mimic.
The PetMan robot created by Boston Dynamics is designed for military use – but don’t expect to see its human-like gait treading across a war zone any time soon.

For now the robot has been designed to act as a walking mannequin to ensure soldiers’ chemical warfare suits don’t rip.

His energetic ’power walk’ and fitness routines are designed to test new uniforms so they don’t tear when in the presence of chemical warfare agents.

The company claims Petman is the first human-shaped, human-sized robot that walks like a man. It can hit speeds of 4.4 miles per hour.
PetMan can also do jumping jacks, squat thrusts and press-ups, all without losing his balance.

Previous mechanical systems for this testing just stressed the fabric in an unrealistic fashion, rather than moving like a human being does.

He also has a good enough sense of balance that the robot can be shoved hard while running on a treadmill, and won’t topple over.
’Places like the Fukushima reactors could be accessed by PETMAN-like robots, without requiring any human exposure to hazardous materials. Perhaps firefighting inside of buildings or facilities designed for human access, like on board ships designed for human crews,’ said Robert Playter, an engineer at Boston Dynamics.

The robot is part-funded by DARPA – the US military’s ’mad scientist’ division.
’Petman will balance itself and move freely; walking, crawling and doing a variety of suit-stressing calisthenics during exposure to chemical warfare agents,’ says his creator, Boston Dynamics.

’Petman will also simulate human physiology within the protective suit by controlling temperature, humidity and sweating when necessary, all to provide realistic test conditions,’ says the robot company.

Okay, I may be letting my imagination run wild or I could be a bit paranoid because I am an old fart….I am sure that any robots will be constructed with failsafe mechanisms……and then I think back to I, Robot…….