America's Got Talent: Boston Dynamics makes spot robots dance, mishap included
Boston Dynamics proves the special talents of its spot robots on the talent show "America's Got Talent" – even if there was a glitch.
The five Spot robots are still dancing.
(Image: America's Got Talent (Screenshot))
The robotics company Boston Dynamics, developer of the humanoid robot Atlas and the four-legged robot dog Spot, took part in the TV show “America's Got Talent” (AGT) with a dance performance. A total of five Spot robots danced to the Queen song “Don't Stop Me Now” in a choreography. A glitch did not disrupt the performance.
For those interested in robots, dance performances by robots are nothing new. Boston Dynamics regularly publishes videos in which the company's robots demonstrate their agility. However, Boston Dynamics has now taken on the competition and taken part in the talent show “America's Got Talent” – the German offshoot of which is known as “Deutschland sucht das Supertalent” and is now only known as “Das Supertalent” and will no longer be continued after 2025 –. The robotics company mainly competes with (human) singers, comedians, and acrobats.
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A spot “dies” on stage
During the approximately 1.5-minute performance, five yellow Spot robot dogs danced a choreography and moved their grippers as mouths “lip-syncing” to Freddie Mercury's song. There was a moment of shock when one of the robot dogs suddenly fell out, collapsed and remained lifeless on stage for the rest of the performance. However, the remaining Spot robots danced on undeterred.
Boston Dynamics had programmed them to automatically adapt their choreography should one or more of the robots fail. This was possible because each of the spot robots acted autonomously, meaning they could adapt and avoid another robot if it was standing or lying in the way. This guarantees that the formation remains intact.
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The show's judges, SofĂa Vergara, Mel B, Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel, were surprised and delighted by the dancing robot dogs. The seemingly theatrical failure of one of the spot robots caused amusement and was particularly emphasized. However, the robot rose to its feet again after the performance to applause. The audience was also impressed by the robot dance performance. The judges awarded four “yes” votes, meaning that Boston Dynamics and its dancing spot robots will move on to the next round and will be allowed back on the AGT stage.
(olb)
