Boston Dynamics just posted a video (watch it above) of its next generation ATLAS robot, and it’s absolutely incredible.
The video shows ATLAS walk, open a door, maintain its balance while it walks through snow and semi-rough terrain, squat and pick up 10-pound boxes and much more. And it does everything without a tether.
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But perhaps the most impressive thing, and there’s many of them, is ATLAS’ ability to maintain its balance while a Boston Dynamics engineer does his best John Scott impression and violently pushes ATLAS around with a hockey stick. ATLAS bounces back each time and is able to find the box in front of it. ATLAS even manages to get up, quite gracefully, after falling over.
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We’ve reached out to Boston Dynamics to get more information, but here’s what the YouTube description reveals about the next generation ATLAS robot:
“A new version of Atlas, designed to operate outdoors and inside buildings. 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 and help with navigation. This version of Atlas is about 5′ 9″ tall (about a head shorter than the DRC Atlas) and weighs 180 lbs.”
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Again, incredible progress made here by Boston Dynamics. ATLAS has come a long way since the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge, which wasn’t that long ago.
An ATLAS robot falling down at the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge
