Robot reindeer: Robotics company Boston Dynamics gives us a glimpse of the dystopian future of Christmas
Thought your job was in danger of being stolen by robots? Spare a thought for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen et al, who are clearly about to be pushed aside, after US robotics company Boston Dynamics gave us an insight into the dystopian future of Christmas.
In what was probably supposed to be a fun festive joke, three robot reindeer are seen pulling an uncertain-looking woman in a sleigh across a grassy knoll (global warming means there's no snow in the North Pole of the future).
The front two reindeer appear to be attached to the sleigh using some sort of futuristic invisible reins, while the rear one labours to pull the weight of its hesitantly grimacing driver.
Boston Dynamics is the company behind the BigDog robot, a dog-like four-legged robot which can climb slopes up to 35 degrees and tackle terrain such as rubble, mud, snow and water.
Among its clients, it lists US military organisation Darpa, the US Army and Sony. And we thought conspiracy theorists were spouting outlandish ideas when they suggested The Man controls Christmas…