When the machines rise up and kill us all, they won't be marching across the face of the Earth – they'll be rolling.
That's the conclusion alarmists might draw when they see Handle, a headless, two metre-tall robot with roller-skate feet that can leap over obstacles, cross uneven terrain and lift up to 100 pounds with its nightmarish-looking arms.
The highly agile, extremely mobile robot is the latest innovation from Boston Dynamics, a robotics company that has already developed other robots that can walk like living creatures.
But, unlike some of Boston Dynamics' other projects, Handle doesn't quite walk. Instead, the robot rolls around on two wheels – one on each of its backward-bending legs. Handle also has two praying mantis-like arms that it uses for balance, which can be equipped with grabbers for lifting.
Boston Dynamics has released an astonishing, potentially horrifying video of Handle in action, demonstrating the mechanical monstrosity's incredible capabilities.
The video shows the robot unfolding like a battle droid from "Star Wars," going from a compact box to its full two-metre height in seconds.
The 97-second demo video shows the robot moving very much like an inline skater, crouching low to make tight turns, leaning backward to stop quickly, and squatting down low before leaping over four-foot-high obstacles.
Yes, the robot can jump – and quite well. The video shows it hopping over concrete barriers, jumping up to a higher surface, and vaulting over snowbanks outside the facility. So don't make the mistake of thinking you might be safe in your snow fort.
Handle is also quite strong. The video shows the robot using claws attached to its arms to lift a nearly-45 kg crate.
Boston Dynamics says the robot can leap higher than any basketball player (121 cm), and moves at about 14 kilometres an hour, or about the speed of a brisk jog.
And with an electric power source that will sustain it over a distance of 24 kilometres, it can outlast just about any runner trying to outpace it.
So just try to get away.
Handle has 10 hydraulic and electric actuated joints, making it "significantly less complex" than some of Boston Dynamics' other projects, the company says. "Wheels are efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere," Boston Dynamics writes in the YouTube description for the demo video. "By combining wheels and legs, Handle can have the best of both worlds."
Boston Dynamics is a subsidiary of Google.
Other projects at Boston Dynamics include Atlas, a two-legged, two-armed bot that can (awkwardly) walk like a human, and Spot, a dog-like robot capable of crossing rough terrain and staying on its feet, even when kicked.
When the aliens from TRAPPIST-1 arrive to conquer Earth, perhaps we'll be using Boston Dynamics-made killbots to fight them off.
Or perhaps the robots will have already rolled over humanity and conquered Earth for themselves.
