It’s been clear for a long time that Black Mirror’s dystopian tech predictions were pretty much bang on the money. And there’s now a new robot from a New York-based engineering company that is eerily similar to the sci-fi show.
A swimming, skating, crawling, wriggling robot from Pliant Energy Systems is capable of travelling across dry land, ice, snow and underwater with ease.
The Velox robot is a “highly maneuverable autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can move from land to sea and back with ease,” according to the developers. “It’s ideal for surf zone, amphibious beach missions and polar ice missions.”
Check out this bad boy in action:
The designers envisage that the robot could be used by the military to deliver ammo and medical supplies during an amphibious beach mission - or by researchers to monitor wildlife in sensitive areas.
There is also a stand-alone thruster to replace the propellers when travelling in environmentally-sensitive waters, such as coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds.
But before you freak the f**k out about the robots taking over – the Velox looks pretty slow at the minute, so a brisk walking pace should be enough to stop the mechanical beasts from hunting you down.
(Images: Pliant Energy Systems)
