[TheForge] robot

[Ries Niemi]

I am not sure why we are supposed to be disappointed that the robot is 
used in an ad.
Are you saying that the robot doesnt exist at all- that its just CG?
Now that would be disappointing.
What about his personal website- are the photos of his dad and the 
model trains fake too?
But even if BMW paid for the robot to be built, for the express purpose 
of an ad, and even if they are pretending they didnt, the object itself 
is still cool.

A lot of current robotics tech has been developed for hollywood movies, 
and the tech is real, even if the robots cant really do what is shown 
in the movies. And people like mark pauline and survival research 
laboratories are essentially just producing ads for how badass and cool 
they are, but they still make real objects that really work.
I cant tell from the postage stamp sized videos I can download if the 
robot is real or not- its too itty bitty and herky jerky.
But if it is real, I like it.
It kind of reminds me of the former world champion break dancing  
pickup truck.
In truck dancing, the frames are reinforced, then virtually every body 
part is connected up to hydraulic cylinders, and with a remote control, 
the owner can make the truck come apart and go back together, rear up 
on its hind legs, and sometimes even have the doors pop straight out 
and start spinning.

ries