Boston Dynamics, a robotics company that Google bought back in 2013, has routinely wowed the world by releasing videos of robots that are growing ever closer to resembling the humanoid robots we see in science fiction movies. The company this week released what might be its craziest robot video yet that shows its next-generation Atlas robot opening doors on its own, walking through snowy terrains, and picking up 10-pound boxes. This is the move impressive robot design I’ve seen from Boston Dynamics yet, which is really saying something.
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The robot starts out the video by coming to life and exiting Boston Dynamics’ headquarters on its own by opening up the front door…
…then it takes a leisurely stroll through snowy, uneven terrain without falling over once…
…next, it goes into a warehouse where it lifts and stacks a pair of 10-pound boxes on shelves…
…and later it even gets knocked down and then picks itself up off the ground without any kind of assistance…
Here’s how Boston Dynamics describes this robot on its YouTube page:
A new version of Atlas, designed to operate outdoors and inside buildings. It is specialized for mobile manipulation. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance and LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain, help with navigation and manipulate objects. This version of Atlas is about 5′ 9″ tall (about a head shorter than the DRC Atlas) and weighs 180 lbs.
Check out the whole video of the new Atlas for yourself in action below.
