Boston Dynamics Made a Robot Dog that Can Open Doors

Robotics firm Boston Dynamics has created a pretty creepy robot dog that's capable of opening doors.

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As if the world’s first robotic citizen wasn’t enough, now the world has a robotic dog that can open doors. It’s the latest creation by robotics company Boston Dynamics.

In the video the company posted on Monday, the firm’s SpotMini robot dog has trouble getting past a closed door. But another SpotMini with a special arm comes to the rescue, and agilely opens said door. No people appear in the video, so it’s uncertain whether the dogs are operating on their own or if they’re being controlled by someone off camera.

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The video is all too familiar if you’re a fan of the dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror. Boston Dynamics’ dog is exactly like the killer robot dogs in Black Mirror’s “Metalhead” episode, where robotic dogs embark on a spree to murder all living things. However, Boston Dynamic’s robot dogs have real world applications, like the skill to unearth people from debris after an earthquake or, as one Twitter user suggested, take the place of assistance dogs. Either way, the video's a little disconcerting, and a lot of people on Twitter agreed.

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