Boston Dynamics unveiled a new video of their humanoid robot Atlas at the Fab Lab conference earlier this month, and now us mere peasants have finally got the chance to take a look at it. The video features Atlas storming through the woods, and it’s uncanny how human-like its movement is (if said human was slightly inebriated, but it’s still impressive).
Unlike many robots that seek to mimic human movement, Atlas is traverse obstacles swiftly and can keep its balance when moving along uneven surfaces. While Atlas is having to make use of a power tether in the video, it’s clear that it is able to cleverly distribute its own weight of its own accord, and Boston Dynamics have stated that a newer model that doesn’t need to make use of the tether is in development.
The video is somewhat disconcerting to watch given how familiar its movement is, but if you just imagine it as short, drunk man trying to find his way home after somehow ending up in a forest following a particularly heavy night out, it becomes less creepy and more hilarious.
I mean, look at this thing. It looks less like a bold step in a new era of robotics and more like a guy who’s polished off a bottle of Jack Daniel’s as is trying to remember where he put his legs.
