A YouTube engineering fanatic has re-engineered the Boston Dynamics robot dog Spot to "urinate" beer on command.
The cutting edge robotics company began offering their four-legged robot for sale in September 2019. Since then most of the $75,000 (£55,000) units have gone to military contractors and law enforcement agencies.
They’ve mainly been used to research the possibility of using a mechanical replacement for guard dogs or to carry weaponry and other equipment for infantry troops.
But YouTuber Michael Reeves has got his hands on a robot dog, and he has something much less serious on his mind.
"It’s the culmination of 30 years of research and development," he says.
"An engineering masterpiece."
Then he adds: "I want to make it p*** beer into a cup."
Michael has added a few lines of code to his "dog’s" programming, and a few feet of tubing to its body. Now his robot can spot an empty cup on the floor, straddle it and fill it with room-temperature IPA.
There’s still quite a long way to go for "P***-Bot", as he calls his beer-squirting canoid, as it’s not completely house-trained as yet.
"P***-Bot is working flawlessly. 35% of the time," he cheerfully admits.
In his video explaining the project, P***-Bot quite frequently fails to hit the target.
Daily Star readers should be aware that in the video, embedded here below, Michael uses some language that might not be considered appropriate for most family environments or workplaces.
Michael’s hugely successful video of the project has attracted thousands of comments.
One forward-thinking YouTube fan suggests that the next step is to eliminate the cup, saying: "The robot dog can now detect human mouths so you can lie down and…"
Michael’s coding and engineering expertise are beyond doubt.
He’s previously constructed a surgical robot, a baby doll that shoots lasers out of its eyes, and a robot to automatically remove tomatoes from a salad.
But perhaps the most admirable thing about Michael is his determination.
He drove from California to Boston Dynamics’ HQ in Massachusetts in a 45-hour mission to create a 30-second finale to his video.
In it, P***-Bot takes a wee in the robot manufacturers’ car park.
Which is reassuring. Because, for all the scare stories about killer robots declaring war on mankind, the important thing to remember is that most robots aren’t created to end humanity. They’re programmed by playful nerds who just want to raise a few laughs.
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