Robotics have advanced considerably in recent years and a video released by Boston Dynamics is proof of that. The video shows the company’s PETMAN robot, which is “used to test the performance of protective clothing designed for hazardous environments.”
When kitted out in a gas mask and chemical protection suit, the anthropomorphic robot resembles an early-stage Terminator unit and is possibly frightening enough to send the paranoid looking for John Connor.
PETMAN’s disguise isn’t intended to scare humans however, the robotic humanoid features sensors that detect whether chemicals are leaking through the chemical protection suit that it is wearing. As can be seen from the video, the suit survives the initial testing by the robot despite stretching on PETMAN’s part backed by robotic limbs. It’s still scary though.
In an effort to make Petman’s disconcerting human appearance and motions seem less threatening, here is a YouTube user-edited version of the same video, set to the sounds to The Bee Gees’ Staying Alive. It doesn’t have quite the same Judgement Day feel to it.
Source: PopSci