You know how in science fiction files, the trouble starts when advanced AI systems are downloaded into robots? Well, Boston Dynamics’ Spot now has access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. Not only is the world’s second-scariest robotic quadruped mechanically capable, but it’s also now much more intelligent. That won’t end badly.
It was only a matter of time before someone stuck the year’s most popular technology into one of the superstars of recent memory. Spot was given access to ChatGPT, which integrated with its usual patrol work, as well as a verbal interface. Long story short, the robot can now talk to people about its job.
Spot: the difference
We integrated ChatGPT with our robots.
We had a ton of fun building this!
Read on for the details: pic.twitter.com/DRC2AOF0eU
— Santiago (@svpino) April 25, 2023
The implementation was done by engineer Santiago Valdarrama, who posted the results on his Twitter. The machine learning specialist combined ChatGPT with a Google Text-to-Speak modulator to create the walking, talking robotic canine. It’s able to answer questions about its work, its current mechanical and battery status, and a few other things besides.
There’s a reason behind this beyond making Spot an even scarier invention. Boston Dynamics’ robots are frequently used to monitor larger areas. Large amounts of data are captured, using a variety of sensors. Usually, this data must be inspected for anomalies or trends. That can take time. The ChatGPT interface is able to do this work by aseessing the data immediately. Then, the security ‘bot can just be queried directly.
“We can now ask the robots about past and future missions and get an answer in real-time. ChatGPT interprets the question, parses the files, and formulates the answer,” explains Valdarrama.
Unexpected? Absolutely. Terrifying? Sure. Cool? Undeniably. ChatGPT integration isn’t a standard option for the robot at present but, seeing this, it’s probably not far away.