ROBOTS are taking over the Olympics?!
Yes, robots are taking over the Olympics: and its actually adorable.
Just outside of Pyeongchang, South Korea, a tournament called “Edge of Robot: Ski Robot Challenge” just happened, and it was wild.
It saw robots from eight teams compete to perform the best ski slalom, which involved getting to the bottom of a slope whilst avoiding flagpoles.
Robots skied down a course at the Welli Hilli ski resort, near #Pyeongchang. Eight #robotics teams from universities competed for a $10,000 prize in the Ski Robot Challenge. UAT robotics students should keep this in mind for future #Olympics! https://t.co/VJA3FNqfZQ pic.twitter.com/wqKR17vRr3
— Univ Advancing Tech (@UATedu) February 12, 2018
Part of a push to display South Korea’s robotics industry, these robots demonstrate how far science has come in mimicking human behaviour and skills. A lot of work goes into creating something like this: not only do robots need to have the balance, agility and speed of a professional, they also need basic skills that we take for granted, for example, the ability to differentiate between red and blue flags.
Robot skiing. Tremendous scenes.pic.twitter.com/wZbbaCaezD
— Steve Bloomer's Washing 🎙 (@SteveBloomerPod) February 12, 2018
But did we mention, they’re not just feats of engineering – they’re also hilarious.
bless these good robots competing in their own ski tournament at #PyeongChang2018 , the best stout boys https://t.co/ifX1oVRFOO pic.twitter.com/seHxLG4jir
— Dami Lee (@dami_lee) February 12, 2018
Elon Musk: I launched a Tesla into space
— Andrew Cushing (@aecushing) February 12, 2018
Skiing robot engineer: Hold my b-- *spills beer all over laptop* pic.twitter.com/6OWQC3sIhq
We may be one step closer to robots taking over the world, but it was worth it.