Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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Title: Boston Dynamics unveils an all-electric version of its Atlas robot

Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 15:15:13 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/boston-dynamics-unve...

When Boston Dynamics announced on Tuesday it was retiring the hydraulic
version of Atlas, there were a few hints that the company wasn't done with
humanoid robots entirely. Sure enough, one day later, Boston Dynamics has
unveiled an all-electric model.

Atlas was originally envisioned as a search-and-rescue robot and Boston
Dynamics claims the latest model is designed for real-world applications. It
calls Atlas "the worldΓÇÖs most dynamic humanoid robot" and it certainly
looks limber.

A video shows Atlas lying prostrate and flipping its feet over to push itself
up into a standing position. The robot then turns its head 180 degrees,
followed by its torso. The rotations of the legs and the rest of the body are
a little unnerving, but it's an impressive display of balance and
flexibility.

The electric Atlas appears sleeker than its predecessor, which looked
slightly like a person wearing an exosuit. Rather than having a face with
human features, Atlas' featureless head looks a bit like a ring light.

Boston Dynamics says parent company Hyundai's next generation of automotive
manufacturing tech is the "perfect testing ground for new Atlas
applications." It plans to show off what the robot can really do over the
coming months and years, and to put Atlas through its paces with a small
group of partners at first.

The company is looking into new gripper systems to make sure Atlas is
suitable for a range of commercial needs while building on the previous
parkour-capable model's ability to lift and move a variety of heavy and
irregular objects. It claims that the new Atlas will be stronger than before
and it's confident that it can commercialize a humanoid robot.

"Atlas may resemble a human form factor, but we are equipping the robot to
move in the most efficient way possible to complete a task, rather than being
constrained by a human range of motion. Atlas will move in ways that exceed
human capabilities," Boston Dynamics wrote in a blog post. "Combining decades
of practical experience with first principles thinking, we are confident in
our ability to deliver a robot uniquely capable of tackling dull, dirty and
dangerous tasks in real applications."

Boston Dynamics is hardly the only company working on a humanoid robot.
Tesla, of course, has one in the pipeline, while Menteebot, which can be
controlled using natural-language voice commands emerged just this morning.

However, Boston Dynamics has been working on robots with this form factor for
well over a decade, far longer than most. As things stand, it may be best
positioned to get a humanoid robot into workplaces and even homes. Before
that though, you might expect to see some videos in which the electric Atlas
shows off some slick dance moves.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/boston-dynamics-unve...
its-atlas-robot-151513244.html?src=rss

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