[hmexx]

At this point I feel like Boston Dynamics has a designer whose job is to make their robots look cool/interesting, beyond what their function requires.

There's always something mesmorizing about them!

[JKCalhoun]

I had the opposite thought: that they are designing their robots strictly for function and letting the form follow.

To be sure they are "cleaned up" but the way the counterbalance is slung underneath, and "Wheeler"-like ("Return to Oz" reference) mobility, single arm with some kind of suction gripper .... it screams utility.