Boston Dynamics Robot Dog Walks On Oobleck

Can a robot walk on liquid? Boston Dynamics’ iconic robot dog, Spot, takes on a kiddie pool full of oobleck — a non-Newtonian fluid that’s part liquid, part solid, depending on how you interact with it. Oobleck behaves in mind-blowing ways: when you apply force, it turns solid; when you rest, it flows like a liquid. So why doesn’t Spot, a 70-pound robot, sink into it? The answer has everything to do with physics, movement, and some seriously cool robotics engineering. In this wild experiment, we test what happens when Spot walks (and maybe stops!) on a surface that reacts to pressure in real time. Will Spot stay on top, or take a dive?