Boston Dynamics turned its robot dog into a talking tour guide using AI as seen in a somewhat unsettling video posted by Boston Dynamics. Boston Dynamics used OpenAI’s ChatGPT API, along with some open-source large language models (LLM) to carefully train its responses. It then outfitted the bot with a speaker, added text-to-speech capabilities, and made its mouth mimic speech “like the mouth of a puppet.”
The version speaking in a British accent and the one of a Shakespearean time traveller had me 😂 but it’s certainly a little unsettling overall.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In a somewhat unsettling video posted by Boston Dynamics, we see its robot dog outfitted with a top hat, mustache, and googly eyes as it chats with staff members in a British accent, taking them on a tour of the company’s facilities.
Follow me, gentlemen.” As shown in the demo, Spot is capable of answering questions and even opens its “mouth” to make it seem like it’s actually speaking.
To make Spot “talk,” Boston Dynamics used OpenAI’s ChatGPT API, along with some open-source large language models (LLM) to carefully train its responses.
Matt Klingensmith, the principal software engineer at Boston Dynamics, says the team gave Spot a “very brief script” for each of the rooms at its facilities.
“We’re excited to continue exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and robotics,” Klingensmith writes in a post on Boston Dynamics’ site.
While Spot may sound and look pretty silly during the video, it’s still a bit hard not to think about the dog-like robot’s ability to open doors and spy on people.
The original article contains 482 words, the summary contains 170 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!