Santa Gets Help From Robot Reindeer

One question that many children will ask each Christmas in starry-eyed wonder – how does Santa actually distribute all of his presents to children worldwide in a single night? That is something for parents to answer, but in the meantime, we can sit back and see how technology might soon replace beasts of burden when it comes to pulling things along. Scientists at Boston Dynamics have issued a video that you can see above, where their quadruped robots have usurped Santa’s reindeer in the pecking order.

These are three of Boston Dynamics’ Spot bots, and all of them happen to be four-legged mechanical beasts inspired by dogs. In order to match the festive mood, these robots have been dressed up to resemble reindeer, complete with antlers as well as pulling a sled which looks to be something that has bicycle wheels attached to it.

The onboard computer within these Spot bots will be able to control locomotion, process sensors and handle communications with the user. It remains to be seen whether the old man of the North would want to retrench his family of reindeer, but enjoy the video while it is still there as you prepare for this Yuletide season. Guess it is time for Rudolph to take a break after all these years.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: boston dynamics