High-jumping, highly-mobile robot might be too much to ‘Handle’

Boston Dynamics has asked Jurvetson to blur the footage for Handle however his video has already been mirrored multiple times on the internet. Image: YouTube/Steve Jurvetson

Boston Dynamics has a pretty good track record of coming up with some nifty robotics innovations. While the last one was a rather adorable robo-dog  with an extending arm (SpotMini), their latest creation is a two-wheeled, highly-mobile “nightmare inducing” jumping machine.

READ: WATCH: New robodog fetches soda cans and slips on banana peels

The new robot called “Handle” (apparently because it ‘handles’ things) has not yet been officially unveiled publicly, but a leaked video by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson has been making its rounds on the internet, reports Engadget.

Marc Raibert, founder of the Massachusetts-based engineering and robotics design company which created Handle, emphasized the mobility of the robot when compared to their other legged creations. It basically combines the efficiency of wheels with the flexibility of legs, to give Handle a whole new range of motion. Watch a shortened version of Jurveston’s original video of the presentation below to see Handle in action.

Compared to the two-legged Atlas, Handle is quite spry and light on its feet. It is also supposed to be able to carry heavier loads. Perhaps future versions of Handle can help out in industrial settings; or the military could just mount heavy machine guns on it and let these highly mobile robots zip across the battlefield while raining destruction. Either way, Handle ‘holds’ a lot of promise. Alfred Bayle