
Boston Dynamics turned the spotlight to Atlas, the surprising humanoid robot that wowed the world. This time, Google’s Atlas is better and more fit to face unpredictable terrains or attacks.
Boston Dynamics turned the spotlight to Atlas, the surprising humanoid robot that wowed the world. This time, Google’s Atlas is better and more fit to face unpredictable terrains or attacks.
The future belongs to intelligent robots, artificial intelligence and virtual reality as two of the viral videos this week suggest. One shows a room full of people wearing VR headsets and immersed in a virtual reality experience as Mark Zuckerberg casually strolls by. The other video released by Google’s Boston Dynamics shows the revamped Atlas robot dealing with all types of unpredictable situations and making a remarkable comeback at all times.
The resilient humanoid robot is seen walking through a rough terrain, full of unpredictable obstacles. Much like a child who barely learned how to walk, Atlas keeps its precise trajectory while stumbling and falling. However, the 180 pounds humanoid robot springs back on its feet in no time and continues unabated.
The same happens when Atlas is pestered by a human while it has a job to do. Trapped in a warehouse, Google’s Atlas has to shelve boxes. The simple task is interrupted by a Boston Dynamics team member who bullies the humanoid robot. Robot cruelty is sidelined by Atlas as it comes back to its feet and continues complying with its task.
These may seem minor accomplishments to some. Still, consider that in previous experiments, Atlas was kept in ropes to prevent it from falling and damaging a huge investment and years of work. Set free, the humanoid robot is paving the way to the future.
A number of robots developed over the years perform some of the tasks that Atlas is capable of performing at the moment. However, not many have the outstanding capability of being independent or dealing with unexpected obstacles. With the new video, Boston Dynamics turned the spotlight to Atlas for good, drawing the attention of the world to the future of robotics.
Aaron Ames with Georgia Tech stated:
“They’ve set a new bar. It’s a huge step towards getting robots that can actually operate in our world in unstructured environments on uneven terrain”.
Google’s secretive team at Boston Dynamics currently leads the way in robotics. Atlas, the humanoid robot is hailed to be the cornerstone of robotics that will spawn the droids capable of relentlessly carrying out chores for us.
Setting aside concerns that robots are here to steal our future, our jobs and eventually rebel against their human creators, we can’t help but marvel at Google’s Atlas accomplishments. Boston Dynamics turned the spotlight to Atlas and in the meantime to the fact that the age of independent robots isn’t decades away, it’s already happening.
Photo Credits: YouTube