More than only writing like a person, this robot is also capable of other tasks. Boston Dynamic’s Atlas robot is awe-inspiring audiences with new abilities that demonstrate how much more human-like it is becoming.
Previously, Atlas could run, jump, and even execute coordinated dances on a parkour course. A few years later, the humanoid robot has evolved to the point that it can now grasp and toss using grippers that resemble human hands.
Robot Advancements
The film begins with a construction worker who has forgotten his tools standing on scaffolding. Atlas, the protagonist of the video, then enters and places a wooden board between two boxes to make a bridge.
The robot then seizes the bag with both of his grippers, ascends the steps, traverses the bridge, and leaps into the air. It then succeeds in tossing the bag to the worker. It closes its theatrics by pushing a heavy wooden box to the ground and doing a complex multi-axis flip.
It is awe-inspiring to see a robot complete such hard tasks and even execute a winning somersault with such style and precision. Obviously, there is a large team of engineers behind the film, but it is both impressive and frightening to see a robot appear to become more human-like seemingly overnight.
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Enhanced Capabilities
Boston Dynamics covers the programming and engineering of Atlas’ software in a subsequent video. It demonstrates how the robot can now observe and learn from objects in its environment. This is significantly more sophisticated and layered than the previous parkour sequence performed by the robot.
Engineers claim that Atlas’ two cameras, a color camera, and a depth sensor, function similarly to human eyes. The humanoid’s onboard computers process the images captured by the camera.
There is also a new algorithm that helps the robot understand the forces exerted by items on its own body, so that it does not, for example, topple over when lifting a big object.
It also enables Atlas to comprehend the physics of holding an object, such as how fast it must jump and turn while holding an object.
Engineers also perform a simulation of Atlas’ task in advance to observe its behavior and determine the robot’s capabilities in the real world.
Atlas’s final somersault flip in the video is significantly more advanced than its prior parkour abilities. The film indicates that a year ago, the robot would not have been able to perform this jump. Now, as a result of modifications to its controller and a new program, it is able to perform a remarkable multi-axis flip.
According to the video, this maneuver is known internally as the sick flip and is essentially an inverted 540-degree spin. Talk about skills!
Atlas is not only competing with ChatGPT, an AI software that has reportedly produced recent work emails for some CEOs, but also with Tesla’s AI-focused Optimus humanoid. Atlas is the research platform of Boston Dynamics, and it is not for sale.
Tesla has also stated that it could take between three and five years for the business to begin selling Optimus.
Humans’ opposable thumbs have helped place us at the very top of the evolutionary pyramid. Now that robots possess capable grippers, it will be fascinating and frightening to see where humanoids such as Atlas are headed in the future.
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