Boston Dynamics has revealed a new version of their two-legged humanoid Atlas robot. It combines the walking capabilities of the previous Atlas and the jumping prowess of their wheeled robot Handle.
Not only can the new Atlas robot hop, skip and twirl in the air; it can even do backflips from an elevated place, like a parkour practitioner, or traceur.
A round of applause for the dynamic Atlas! Image: YouTube/Boston Dynamics
The presentation shows impressive progress towards making bipedal robots as agile, if not more so, than humans. But like humans, the new Atlas still needs a bit of practice to perfect its new moves, as the end clip showed.
It may take a while before this technology becomes commercialized, but considering that Boston Dynamics is now under the Japanese company SoftBank, it may happen sooner. After all, Japan loves robots, and Erica by Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7scPZ5w1tg
Boston Dynamics also recently revealed a friendlier looking version of their four-legged dog-like robot SpotMini. The robot now comes with a sleeker build, with yellow panels. JB
The new SpotMini. Image: YouTube/Boston Dynamics
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