Throughout the year we’ve seen quite a few examples of Boston Dynamics’ robot dog performing tasks like surveying construction sites and helping out the Massachusetts State Police force. These examples are however all shown in controlled environments, with little to no real-world encounters ever taking place.
Now, it appears as though we finally got a taste of what it would be like to come across this mechanical K9 in the real world, and it is as creepy as you would imagine. A local resident from Northern Ontario, Canada who goes by @bloodtear on Twitter, noticed Spot the dog casually walking down the street with its owner and immediately got out his phone to record the encounter.
In the video you can see spot making its way down the street before stopping at the door of her vehicle. Spot then stops for a moment before quickly taking a few steps back, almost as if it was startled by something. It then casually continues on its evening stroll before the video ends.
Take a look at the strange encounter below
guys look who i saw out on da street!!!:) pic.twitter.com/rPczxbWAkL
— ✨ nathan moved accounts (@bIoodtear) September 25, 2020
The real-world interaction quickly went viral on social media, and did not go unnoticed by Boston Dynamics. According to the company, the encounter was more that just an evening stroll. It was out with its handler conducting a “routine mobility tests.” Boston Dynamics also explained that the robot was kept far away from people during the test, which is required by its terms of service.
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) September 27, 2020
Seeing as Boston Dynamics have officially put Spot is officially on sale, don’t be surprised if we see more real-world interactions on the future.
Image credit: Twitter/@BostonDynamics
