Boston Dynamics officially reveals its rolling 'Handle' robot
It's still agile, even with wheels instead of pegs at the end of both legs.
We got a preview of Boston Dynamics' latest "helper" thanks to offscreen video leaked from a presentation, but now the company is ready to let us meet Handle. Unlike its previous robots that ran, jumped or walked, this two-legged monstrosity gets around on small wheels. Even with the adjustment, the video shows clearly how it can still get down stairs, navigate down a snowy hill, and pull off impressive leaps even while moving.
The company says it's designed to carry things, hence the name, but with that kind of go-anywhere ability it seems equipped for any kind of task up to and including Judgement Day. Handle is 6.5 feet tall, can jump 4 feet and travels at speeds of up to 9mph. According to the description on the video, it combines hydraulic and electric actuators, and can travel up to 15 miles between charges and it's apparently less complex than the quadruped and bipedal robots.
