Boston Dynamics unveils new ‘terrifying’ Atlas robot after retiring legendary humanoid known for dancing and parkour

Boston Dynamics has unveiled a new version of its humanoid Atlas robot, showing off its creepy moves that make it look like something out of a sci-fi horror movie.

The Massachusetts-based robotics company shared a video of its latest humanoid, showing it pulling its leg behind its head to stand up — in a way that the public said “looked like something out of the sky.” The exorcist.’

This new version features joints that allow the machine to bend and move in ways the human body cannot – unlike the original, rigid Atlas that was famous for its dancing and parkour.

The company also plans to sell its latest humanoid robot, but the price has not yet been announced and the robot will start working at Hyundai’s factories next year.

The new robot turned out to move completely differently from the old one, as shown in the video announcement.

In the clip, you see the new Atlas rise from the floor with uncanny, smooth precision before turning 180 degrees at the waist and neck.

The old Atlas had hydraulic actuators at the joints, which moved by pumping fluid in and out under pressure.

This type of system is powerful and allows the robot to run and jump at a vibrating speed and intensity.

But it’s not very smooth and the robot could only move each joint about 20 degrees.

By comparison, human elbows can bend about 130 to 153 degrees.

For the new Atlas, Boston Dynamics has ditched the hydraulics in favor of an all-electric design.

This offers several benefits, the company claims: the electric motors in the joints will be stronger than the hydraulic actuators, and they will provide a wider range of motion.

The new Atlas can rotate 360 ​​degrees in all its joints.

The new design will also give the robot more ways to grip and carry objects, Boston Dynamics claimed.

This is important because Boston Dynamics plans to use the new Atlas in manufacturing, transporting parts to and from the assembly line.

That’s why it’s important that Atlas “meets a diverse set of expected manipulation needs in customer environments,” the company said. announcement.

In other words, it will be able to carry different things.

However, this robot is not a forklift with legs. In fact, you’re not supposed to be able to carry boxes at all.

In many cases, the parts entrusted to Atlas will be bulky or have an unusual shape. It is therefore important that the robot arms can take many different shapes and sizes.

And while it’s shaped like a human, the robot is designed to “move in the most efficient way possible to complete a task, rather than being limited by a human range of motion.”

In the eleven years since Boston Dynamics first announced Atlas, the move to electrical connections has been a major overhaul.

And rightly so, according to Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics.

“We wanted to have a machine that, when we announced it, said to the world that Boston Dynamics just set the bar for humanoids again,” he said. told the Boston sphere.

In the time since the company started sharing videos from Atlas, it seems like everyone has gotten into the humanoid robot business.

Tesla has been working on its Optimus robot, sharing a video in February of it walking through the factory with a shuffling but smooth gait.

In October, Amazon announced plans to use humanoid robots in its warehouses.

But Playter said Atlas is at home in factories, not warehouses.

“It’s basically the logistics within factories to move the part to the assembly line,” he said, noting that the average factory robot has difficulty dealing with odd shapes. “I don’t really think they’re boxes. If you are going to pick up boxes or bins, you still have to build a robot.’

If all goes well with Hyundai’s factory test next year, Boston Dynamics will expand to a small number of other manufacturers.

Atlas is poised to become the company’s third commercial robot, following the dog-like Spot and the box-unloading Stretch.

Spot rolled out in 2019, and in 2021 it earned and lost a spot on the New York Police Department.

The NYPD reportedly planned to use the dog in dangerous rescue missions, but the city canceled the contract after outrage over concerns that the expensive robots were part of the excessive militarization of the police force.

In 2021, the company released Stretch, intended for loading and unloading boxes onto trucks and warehouse floors.